IMAGE  EVALUATION 
TEST  TARGET  (MT-3) 


A 


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2.2 


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1.4 

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Photographic 

Sciences 
Corporation 


23  WEST  MAIN  STREET 

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CIHM/ICMH 

Microfiche 

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microfiches 


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Institut  Canadian  de  microreproductions  historiques 


1980 


Technical  and  Bibliographic  Notes/Notes  techniques  et  bibliographiques 


to 


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D 


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et  de  haut  en  bas,  en  prenant  le  nombra 
d'images  ndcessaire.  Les  diagrammes  suivants 
illustrent  la  mithode. 


1 

2 

3 

1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

,   .' f<  •.jfJH»f--^!ifi^'^ 


! 


NONSENSE: 


Being  certain 
Foolieh  Tales 
told  by  a  Father 
to  hie  Children  in 
*The  Children's 
Hour,* 


VOLUME    IV 

i 

"Le  Roman 
d'une  Pussie 
Chat 


J  y 


A    TALE  of  ye  OLDEN   TIMES 

PAR   HENRIQUE   (OLD 
MAN)     RINGTAIL 


I 


^ 


I 


DMrolt,  MiehiCM,U.S.A 

AMERICAN 
PUBLISHING 
COMPANY 

23  Adams  Avenue  East 


Carefully,  faithfully 
and  accurately  translated 
from  the  original  Sanscrit 
by  FREDERICK  ROGERS, 
D.  C.  L.,  {Trin.  Coll.  Tor.)  of 
Osgoode  Hall,  Barrister-at-Law 


Nimtt*»m  Hundrtd 


COPTRIOHT     1900 
BT 

AMERICAN    PUBLISHING    CO. 

23  Adamt  Avanae  Bast, 

Dbtkoit,  Michioan,   U.  S.  A. 


All  Rights  Reiarved, 


H 


I 


i:UM^^±,i^&.^ 


CONTENTS,     m 


Paob 

Dedication^   ......  6 

Author^s  Apologia^          ....  7 

Acknowledgment  y      •            .             .             .  .13 

Mottoes,                ...            .            .            .  15 

Translator's  Preface,          -            .             .  .16 

''Bill  of  the  Play;'         ....  27 

.^c/  /.    T^e  Villain-in  the  Ascendent,         .  .           30 

S  c  B  N  B  :    In  the  Wilds  of  New  Ontario. 

Tbmporb  :    King  William  the  Fourth,  of  England,  and 

King  Grimalkin  the  First,  of  The  Land  of 

the  Grimalkins. 

Act  II.   Hie  Gallantry  of  a  King,  .  45 

S  c  B  N  B  :    In  the  Land  of  the  Grimalkins. 

Tbmporb  :  King  William  the  Fourth,  of  England,  and 
King  Grimalkin  the  First,  of  The  Land  of 
the  Grimalkins. 

Act  III.    The  Search  for  a  ^ueen^  The  Finding 

of  a  ^ueen,  99 

S  c  B  N  B  :  First  in  the  Land  of  the  Grimalkins,  then 
in  the  Subterranean  Channel  leading  from 
that  Land  into  I^ake  Superior,  then  in  the 
Wilds  of  New  Ontario. 

Tbmporb :  King  William  the  Fourth,  of  England,  and 
King  Grfhalkin  the  First,  of  The  Land  of 
the  Grimalkins. 

Act  IV.    The  yourney  to  the  Throne,  .  .         191 

S  c  B  N  B  :  First  in  the  Wilds  of  New  Ontario,  then  in 
the  Subterranean  Channel  leading  from  Lake 
Superior  into  the  Land  of  the  Grimalkins. 

Tbmporb  :  King  William  the  Fourth,  of  England,  and 
King  Grimalkin  the  First,  of  The  Land  of 
the  Grimalkins. 

The  Translator's  Epilogue,  .  .  233 

*  Index  showing  Authors  and  Books  referred  to  or 

quoted  from,  ....         236 

To  the  Reader,  .  .  .  .  .         237 


&fi  ■.  I 


,1- 


THIS  BOOK  IS 
DEDICATED  AND 
INSCRIBED  TO  THE 
MASTER'S  CHILDREN 
AND  THEIR  FRIENDS. 


Y«  POORE  AUTHOR'S  APOLOGIA 

ill  th«  which  ht  ihewgth  how  thii  book  came  to  b§ 
translated  from  the  original  Sanecrlt  into  the  **Queen*$ 
English"  or  *Wnited  States'*  and  how  it  came  to  be  printed. 


HERE  is  a  certain  disease — probably  an  incur- 
able one— which   sometimes  overtakes  a  man 
known  to  the  Ancients  by ,  the    learned    term 
"Cacoethes  Scribendi"  and  to  Modems  as  the 
"Writer's  Itch"  or  "the  Itch  for  Scribbling." 
For  quite  a  time — in  fact  for  several  years  I 
have  had  the  complaint  in  a  mild  form.    It  is  only  lately — 
within  the  last  few  months — that  it  has  assumed  its  present 
severe  type. 

During  the  last  few  years  once  in  a  while  I  would  write  a 
Letter  to  the  Press  endeavoring  to  call  public  attention  to 
the  many  and  g^eat  undeveloped  resources  of  that  vast 
portion  of  country — that  great  North  Land — ^now  commenc- 
ing to  be  popularly  known  as  "New  Ontario." 

Then  within  the  last  few  years  I  have  at  different  times 
compiled  certain  Pamphlets  dealing  with  the  same  subject 
and  the  expense  of  printing  and  circulating  the  same  has 
been  kindly  borne  by  the  Dominion  and  Ontario  Govern- 
ments respectively. 

If  I  had  ended  there  it  might  perhaps  have  been  better  for 
a  long-suffering — a  much-suffering  Public.  But  some 
months  ago  an  earnest  discussion  was  being  carried  on  in 
the  columns  of  that  ably-conducted  and  widely-read  journal, 
"The  Daily  Witness"  (Montreal),  concerning  such  vital 
and  important  subjects  as  "Christian  Socialism  and  Ethical 
Preaching"— "Practical  Christianity"— "The  Church  and 
the  Poor,"  etc. 

Noticing  several  able  Letters  on  the  subject  and  wishing 
to  give  any  assistance  I  could  in  the  matter,  I  wrote  an 
Article  or  Letter  entitled  "Christian  Socialism  and  Ethical 
Preaching,"  which  was  printed  in  the  journal  referred  to. 
Then  later  on  I  wrote  another  Article  and  -which  appeared 
in  the  same  journal  in  its  issue  of  October  7th  last  ( 1899), 
A  Layman's  Thoughts  Concerning  the  Future  Life." 


u 


8 


Ye   Poore   Aut  hor*  s   Apologia, 


The  insidious  malady  still  afflicting  me  and  seeming  to 
grow  worse — although  probably  I  did  not  recognize  its 
effect  at  the  time — I  sat  up  late  at  night — literally  "burning 
midnight  oil" — preparing  other  Articles  dealing  with 
Religious  and  Social  subjects — 'with  the  intention  of  bring- 
ing out  a  little  Book  to  be  entitled  "Lo(^ing  Backward  and 
F<M*ward,  being  the  Thoughts  of  a  Layman  on  the  Eve  of 
the  Twentieth  Century." 

At  that  time  I  labored  under  the  delusion  that  it  would 
not  be  very  difficult  to  obtain  a  Publisher.  I  was  in  fact  in 
the  same  hopeful  and  deluded  condition  as  that  in  which 
"Old  Man  Ringtail"  was  in  when  he  first  finished  writing 
the  MS.  of  "Le  Roman  D'une  Pussie  Chat,"  concerning 
which  I  will  tell  you  in  a  few  minutes,  if  you,  Gentle  Reader, 
will  listen. 

When  I  commenced  to  make  enquiries  I  found  l^at  I  was 
UNKNOWN — I  was  an  Unknown  Author;  how  could  I 
reasonably  expect  any  Publisher  to  bring  out  a  Book  dealing 
with  Religious  and  Social  questions  and  written  by  an 
UNKNOWN  AUTHOR. 

So  I  sorrowfully  came  to  the  conclusion  that  the  time 
was  not  opportune  to  bring  out  my  "Looking  Backward 
and  Forward."  I  must  write  something  which  would  be 
likely  immediately  to  become  popular  with  the  Public  and 
by  the  publication  of  which  I  could  quickly  become  known 
and  favorably  known. 

So,  the  malady  still  possessing  me,  I  went  on  burning 
more  "midnight  oil" — ^and  in  fact  following  the  example  of 
"Old  Man  Ringtail."  If  "The  Wonderful  Story  of  Win's 
Dodo"  is  ever  published  the  Gentle  Reader  will  know  how 
hard  and  diligently  "Old  Man  Ringtail"  used  to  plod  away 
at  that  precious  "Syclopedyia  of  hisen."  I  came  to  the 
conclusion  that  if  I  were  to  write  a  Book  partly  humorous 
and  partly  grave  it  might  be  acceptable  with  the  Public.  So 
I  went  to  work  and  I  wrote  the  MS.  of  "Reveries  and 
Reminiscences,  Grave  and  Gay."  To  illustrate  this  Book, 
and  aided  by  the  kindness  of  certain  friends,  I  was  enabled 
to  gather  together  a  large  number  of  beautiful  photographs 
showing  "Nature  in  her  wildest  haunts,"  water-falls,  inland 


Ye   Poore   Author's   Apologia,         9 

lakes  and  streams,  the  inmost  recesses  of  the  forest,  etc. 
But  even  with  the  help  of  these  photographs  I  found  on 
enquiry  that  a  Publisher  was  an  "unknown  quantity,"  so  to 
speak.    I  was  UNKNOWN— AN  UNKNOWN  AUTHOR. 

And  sadly  I  commenced  to  reason  the  matter  out  with 
myself  somewhat  in  this  way:  "Who  are  you — an  UN- 
"KNOWN  AUTHOR— that  you  think  the  able,  intelligent 
"and  discriminating  Public  are  going  to  take  an  interest  in 
"your  Reveries  and  Reminiscences?  What  would  people 
"generally  care  for  your  Reveries  and  Reminiscences?  If 
"you  were  KNOWN  it  would  be  diflFerent.  But  you  labor 
"under  the  misfortune  of  being  UNKNOWN." 

But — the  malady  seeming  to  get  stronger  the  more  I 
gave  way  to  it  and  the  more  I  burned  "m,idnight  oil" — I 
commenced  to  think  that  perhaps  if  I  were  to  write  a  book 
entirely  humorous  people  might  take  an  interest  in — poor 
me. 

Now  for  a  long  time  I  have  been  a  "Children's  Playmate" 
— Si  great  Lover  of  "The  Youngsters."  And  I  had  become 
rather  learned  in  the  matter  of  "Fairy  Tales,"  "Uncle 
Remus" — and  Literature  of  that  description.  And  for  som.e 
time  I  had  been  a  Story  Teller  myself.  For  years  I  had 
amused  certain  little  children  nearly  every  night — "In  the 
Children's  Hour" — ^by  recounting  to  them  "made  up"  Stories 
concerning  Animals  and  Birds — and  various  other  person- 
ages. And  I  must  say — "though  I  do  say  it  mysel*''^--that 
my  juvenile  auditors  seemed  greatly  to  enjoy  my  "made  up" 
stories. 

Latterly  the  audience  had  generally  consisted  of  my  little 
girl  Gertrude  and  her  Pussy — "Gert's  Pussy" — my  little  girl 
Winnie  and  her  Doggie-  -"Dodo,  a  long-eared  short-tailed 
Bow-wow" — and  several  Dollies. 

So  the  idea  came  to  me  that  I  could  and  should  write  for 
the  delectation  of  the  Public  some  Humorous  Animal 
Stories.  My  idea  was  that  I  would  write  a  Series  of 
Humorous  Books.  The  Series  to  be  entitled  "Nonsense, 
being  Certain  Foolish  Tales  told  by  a  Father  to  his  Children 
in  *The  Children's  Hour.' " 

And  the  result  was  that  I  continued  to  burn  "midnight 


.AlNjAllisLj. 


10 


Ve   Poore  Aui  Aor*  s  Apologia* 


oil"  in  the  preparation  of  the  MS.  of  the  following  "Foolish 
Tales :" 

Vol.  I.  The  Wonderful  Story  of  Gert's  Pussy,  being  a 
Study  in  the  Neglected  Science  of  Pussyology. 

Vol.2.  The  Wonderful  Story  of  Win's  Dodo,  being  a 
Study  in  the  Neglected  Science  of  Bow-wowology. 

Vol.  3.  In  the  Land  of  the  Grimalkins,  being  a  further 
Study  in  the  Neglected  Science  of  Pussyology. 

Vol.  4.    "Le  Roman  D'une  Pussie  Chat." 

Vol.  5.    A  Sequel  to  'De  Roman.' 

For  the  general  information  of  my  Readers  I  may  say 
that  "Le  Roman"  is  a  story  supposed  to  have  been  written 
by  a  genius  named  "Henrique  Ringtail" — ^generally  known 
as  "Old  Man  Ringtail."  This  gentleman  is  one  of  the 
Characters  in  "The  Wonderful  Story  of  Win's  Dodo." 

Shortly  after  I  had  finished  the  writing  of  the  MS.  of 
Vol.  5,  or  as  a  matter  of  fact — if  I  remember  rightly — 
whilst  I  was  writing  the  volume — a  friend  of  mine  saw  in 
an  American  newspaper  a  Review  or  an  advertisement  con- 
cerning a  little  Book  entitled  "Gramma — the  Autobiography 
of  a  Cat,"  (Dr.  John  S.  Owen).  My  friend  knew  that  I 
had  been  writing  something  on  the  same  lines  and  that  I 
was  looking  for  a  Publisher  for  some  "Foolish  Tales"  deal- 
ing with  Pussies  and  Bow-wows — so  he  kindly  copied  out 
the  Review  or  the  advertisement  and  gave  it  to  me. 

I  wrote  to  the  Publishers  of  "Gramma"  and  gave  them 
an  outline  of  the  volumes  of  the  proposed  series  "Nonsense," 
and  to  my  pleasure  they  wrote  me  to  the  effect  that  they 
were  much  pleased  with  the  account  I  had  given  them. 
After  further  correspondence  it  was  decided  that  the  Pub- 
lishers of  "Gramma"  would  at  once  bring  out — ^as  a  burden 
on  the  unsuspecting  Public  as  it  were — one  of  the  volumes 
of  the  Series. 

The  trouble  was  which  volume  to  bring  out  first.  The 
Publishers  seemed  to  think  that  although  the  volumes  had 
been  written  as  parts  of  a  "Series,"  it  would  not  matter 
which  volume  were  published  first — that  each  volume  could 
be  published  separately  and  as  an  independent  book. 

There  is  a  precedent  for  this :  "Beside  the  Bonnie  Brier 


■'^#" 


Yt  Poore   Aui  A  0  r*  s    Apo  lo  g  i  a  < 


XI 


Bush,"  "Auld  Lang  Sync"  and  "Kate  Carnegi*"*  are  vol- 
umes of  a  Series.  And  properly  speaking  they  thould 
perhaps  read  them  in  the  order  in  which  I  have  given ;  but 
still  one  can  take  up  either  volume  of  the  Series  and  under- 
stand it  and  enjoy  it  without  reference  to  the  other  volumes. 

And  so  I  feel  sure  it  will  be  with  the  volumes  of  my 
Series — "Nonsense."  At  any  rate  each  volume  can  be  pub- 
lished separately  and  understood  separately ;  time  alone  will 
show  whether  my  "Foolish  Tales"  will  be  enjoyed. 

Now  in  justice  to  myself  I  wish  to  say  that  I  did  not 
have  the  pleasure  of  seeing  Dr.  Owen's  "Gramma"  until 
after  I  had  completed  the  MS.  of  Vol.  5  of  the  Series 
"Nonsense" — and  in  fact  not  until  within  the  last  few  days. 

I  mention  this  because  "Gert's  Pussy"  has  been  in  the 
habit  night  after  night  of  jumping  up  on  the  table  at  -which 
I  was  busy  writing — as  the  people  in  my  household  can 
testify — and  relating  to  me  with  sundry  "Micau's**  and  purrs 
the  certain  Wonderful  Stories  which  appear  in  Volumes  i 
and  3  of  the  Series 

There  is  a  pretty  photograph  reproduced  as  a  Frontis- 
piece in  "Gramma"  which  shows  that  wonderful  cat  sitting 
on  the  Doctor's  table  dictating  to  him  "the  Autobiography 
of  a  Cat."  "Gert  and  Win"  were  very  much  surprised 
when  they  saw  that  picture  because  they  said  it  was  just 
the  way  "Gert's  Pussy"  told  me  her  Wonderful  Stories. 
And  the  same  picture  might  in  fact  almost  do  as  a  Frontis- 
piece for  "The  Wonderful  Story  of  Gert's  Puss/,"  only  I 
am  not  as  good  looking  a  man  as  the  learned  Author  of 
"Gramma,  the  Autobiography  of  a  Cat."  Doubtless  too 
"Gert  and  Win"  will  claim  that  "Gert's  Pussy  is  better 
looking  than  "Gramma." 

By  the  way,  it  is  my  purpose  to  endeavor  to  get  "Gert's 
Pussy"  and  "Win's  Dodo"  some  day  to  try  and  sit  still — in 
fact  to  "pose" — whilst  a  Photographer  takes  separate  pic- 
tures of  them.  I  know  the  Public  would  like  to  have  a 
picture  of  "Gert's  Pussy"  as  a  Frontispiece  to  "The  Won- 
derful Story  of  Gert's  Pussy"  and  of  "Dodo"  as  a  Frontis- 
piece to  "The  Wonderful  Story  of  Win's  Dod6." 

*"Ian  Maclaren"— the  Rev.  John  Watson,  D.  D. 


*f. 


^mmM 


'v^-a 


12 


Ye   Poore  A  u  t  A  or  *  s   Apologia. 


I  should  perhaps  add  that  between  volumes  2  and  3  of 
the  Series  "Nonsense"  I  found  time  by  burning  more  "mid- 
night oil"  to  write  the  MS.  of  a  little  book  entitled  "The 
Book  which  was  never  Written."  This  Book  is  a  little 
book  written  somewhat  on  the  same  lines  as  that  little  work 
which  has  done  so  much  good  in  the  world  and  which  has 
comforted  so  many  sorrowing  hearts,  "The  Gates  Ajar."* 
I  hope  my  little  work  when  it  is  published  will  also  be  the 
means  of  doing  some  good  in  the  world  and  of  helping  to 
lead  men,  women  and  little  ones  in  the  footprints  of  the 
Master. 

I  perhaps  should  add  that  all  the  volumes  of  the  Series 
"Nonsense"  are  dedicated  and  inscribed — 

"To  the  Master's  Children  and  their  Friends," 

and  that  the  little  "Book  which  was  Never  Written"  is 
dedicated  and  inscribed — 

"To  all  who  love  the  Master's  Children." 


Sault  Ste.  Marie,  Ontario,  August  6th,  1900. 


*EIlzabeth  Stuart  Phelps. 


ACKNOWLEDGMENT 


HEN  one  sits  down  at  this  late  date  in  the  His- 
tory of  the  Literature  of  the  World  to  write  a 
Story  or  a  "Rdman,"  it  is,  I  presume,  impossible 
for  him  to  be  entirely  original  in  his  remarks. 

At  all  events  his  writing  will  to  a  greater  or 
less    extent    be   moulded   or   influenced— even 
although  perhaps  unconsciously — by  that  of  those  who  have 
gone  over  Life's  Pathway  before  him. 

I  feel  this  may  be  true  in  my  own  case.  Without  being 
guilty  of  Plaguarism  to  any  extent  whatever  I  feel  that 
perhaps  I  might  not  have  been  able  to  have  thrown  any 
light  at  all  on  the  wonderful  Subterranean  Channel  which! 
have  supposed  may  lead  from  the  Land  of  the  Grimalkins 
into  Lake  Superior  if  I  had  not  years  ago  read  something 
Rider  Haggard  wrote  concerning  some  subterranean  chan- 
nel in  Africa.  I  forget  entirely  the  particulars,  but  it  seems 
to  me  that  years  ago  I  read  something  very  weird  and 
mysterious  written  by  the  Author  to  whom  I  have  referred 
— something  referring  to  a  Subterranean  Channel  supix>sed 
to  be  situate  somewhere  in  the  wilds  of  the  Continent  men- 
tioned. 

Then^  I  have  a  dim  recollection  that  the  same  eloquent 
writer  used  to  write  about  a  Queen— or  rather  I  think  it 
was  a  couple  of  Queens — -who  lived  somewhere  in  the  heart 
of  Africa.  And  I  think  the  Kingdom  of  the  Queens  was 
only  reached  via  a  journey  through  a  Subterranean  Channel. 
But  it  was  years  ago  when  I  read  the  book  or  books  referred 
to  and  my  recollection  of  what  I  read  is  very  dim.  I  can 
assure  the  Gentle  Reader  there  has  been  no  Plaguarism  on 
my  part  and  that  if  I  have  in  any  way  copied  Rider  Hag- 
gard I  have  done  so  unconsciously. 

I  wish  it  to  be  understood  that  this  statement  also  applies 
to  anything  contained  in  the  Third  volume  of  these  so 
"Foolish  Tales."  Then  it  is  only  fair  to  myself  to  state  that 
whereas  I  do  not  know  or  remember  whether  or  not  Rider 
Haggard  had  any  foundation  whatever  for  his  Subterranean 
Channel — ^any   raison    d'etre    so  to  speak — in  my  case  or 


^m- 


14 


Acknowledgment 


rather  in  the  case  of  my  Subterranean  Channel — there  is 
the  evidence  or  at  any  rate  the  incident  set  forth  in  the 
Epilogue  to  the  said  Third  Volume  of  these  so  "Foolish 
Tales."  I  have  also  read  some  rather  strange  and  weird 
"yams"  written  by  that  very  original  novelist,  M.  Jules 
Verne — I  cannot  say  whether,  unconsciously,  he  has  had  any 
influence  on  the  pages  of  "Nonsense." 

But  the  Writer  of  these  Foolish  Tales  must  acknowledge 
the  debt  of  gratitude  he  is  under  to  Anna  Sewell,  "Lewis 
Carroll"  (the  Rev.  C.  L.  Dodgwn),  Joel  Chandler  Harris, 
William  Seton-Thompson  and  Dr.  John  S.  Owen.  These 
gifted  Authors,  believing  themselves  that  the  "animals  and 
beasteses"  can  talk  and  do  talk,  have  given  to  the  world 
those  beautiful  and  instructive  little  works :  "Black  Beauty," 
"Alice's  Adventures  in  Wonderland,"  "Uncle  Remus — His 
Songs  and  His  Sayings — ^the  Folk  Lore  of  the  Old  Planta- 
tion," "Wild  Animals  I  have  Known,"  and  "Gramma,  the 
Autobiography  of  a  Cat. " 

As  to  the  character  of  Mile.  Violette  Carligny — La  Belle 
Modiste  Aux  Dollies ;  I  feel  that  it  is  likely  I  may,  although 
perhaps  unconsciously,  have  received  my  ideas  from  that 
ever  dear  Child  Lover,  Charles  Dickens.  The  Gentle 
Readers  will  remember  Miss  Jennie  Wren,  the  toll's  Dress- 
maker.* 

There  are  certain  sentences  contained  in  the  following 
pages  which  I  am  glad  and  thankful  I  have  been  able  to 
write — words  concerning  dear  little  Children — ^the  Master's 
Children — ^which  I  might  never  have  written  or  have 
thought  to  have  written — although  I  am  myself  a  Child- 
Lover  and  a  Children's  Playmate — if  I  had  not  lately  had 
the  pleasure  of  reading  that  beautiful  little  book — recently 
published— "Santa  Claus's  Partner."**  The  wish  of  my 
heart  is  that  in  these  "Foolish  Tales"  I  may  have  been 
eimbled  not  only  to  have  written  words  which  will  lead  men, 
women  and  children  to  a  greater  love  for  the  beautiful  in 
Nature — and  to  a  deeper  sense  of  thankfulness  to  the  great 
Father  in  Heaven  who  "made  and  I'oveth  all,"*'   but   that 

*Our  mutual  friend. 

*(1)    Thomas  'Nelson  Pace. 

*<D    "Tbe  Rime  of  the  Ancient  Mariner."   Samuel  Taylor  Coleridge. 


<\ 


Ac  know  I f  d  g me  ni » 


15 


I  also  may  have  been  enabled  to  have  written  words  which 
will  lead  men,  women  and  children  to  lead  more  unselfish, 
i.  e.,  more  Christ-like  lives — ^and  to  be  kinder  not  only  one 
to  the  other,  but  also  to  our  "Four-footed  Friends"  and  our 
Friends  the  Birds. 

For  the  two  maps  or  sketches  which  accompany  this  vol- 
ume the  Translator  is  indebted  to  the  kindness  of  his  friend. 
Miss  Edith  K.  Wismer. 


"And  this  our  life,  exempt  from  public  haunt, 
"Finds  tongues  in  trees,  books  in  the  running  brooks, 
"Sermons  in  stones,  and  good  in  everything." 

'As  You  Like  It,"  Act  II.,  Scene  i.    Williatn  Shakespeare. 

"He  prayeth  best,  who  loveth  best 
"All  things  both  great  and  small; 
"For  the  dear  God  who  loveth  us, 
"He  made  and  loveth  all." 
'The  Rime  of  the  Ancient  Mariner."    Samuel  Taylor  Coleridge. 


i>fi?wf535^f<r,:;.,i.?-. 


THE    TRANSLATOR'S    PREFACE 


AM  about  to  commence  the  hard  work  of  trans- 
lating from  the  classic  Sanscrit  into  Colloquial 
"Queen's  English"  or  "United  States"  Mr. 
Henrique  Ringtail's  Tale  of  ye  Olden  Days. 

I  really  have  felt  sorry  for  Mr.  Ringtail.  Ever 
since  "Win's  Dodo"  related  to  me  the  arduous 
efforts  the  old  gentleman  had  made  to  get  a  Publisher  my 
sympathies  commenced  to  go  out  to  him. 

His  experience  in  endeavoring  to  find  a  Publisher  aimong 
the  gentlemen  of  Arch  Fraternity  at  Michipicoten  and 
Satehewamy  seems  to  have  been  a  very  sad  one.* 

It  seemed  to  me  that  perhaps  if  I  were  to  translate  "Le 
Roman"  into  the  English  language  and  then  submit  the  copy 
to  an  enterprising  Publisher  in  some  larger  city  than  either 
Michipicoten  or  Satehewamy,  I  might  be  able,  perhaps,  to 
get  the  same  published.  I  therefore  asked  the  learned 
Douhabor  to  explain  the  position  to  "Old  Man  Ring^il" 
and  suggest  that  he  kindly  lend  me  the  copy  for  a  few  days, 
and  that  I  would,  with  the  help  of  Gert's  Pussy,  do  my  best 
to  make  as  fair  and  accurate  a  translation  as  possible — 
considering  my  rather  limited  knowledge  of  "the  Sanscrit." 

If  in  the  course  of  the  following  pages  the  "Gentle 
Reader"  comes  on  anything  open  to  criticism — anything 
which  might  have  been  better  said — ^then  I  ask  that  our 
reader  do  not  blame  the  learned  Author  of  "Le  Roman" — 
let  him  blame  the  Translator:  the  fault  will  have  arisen 
from  my  imperfect  knowledge  of  the  classic  Sanscrit  and 
the  difficulty  of  putting  into  English  idiom  sentences  which 
are  so  eloquent  and  easily  intelligible  in  the  original. 

I  suppose  it  is  very  much  "^he  same  in  the  case  of  any 
translation;  it  is  probably  often  impossible  to  convey  the 
very  same  meaning  which  was  intended  in  the  original  writ- 
ing or  to  convey  it  in  as  apt  and  eloquent  a  way. 


t,^. 


Before  I  commence  my  hard  work  may  I  say  a  few  words 
myself  to  the  Gentle  Reader  and  thus  unburden  myself  of 
something  I  have  on  my  mind — ^to  the  end  that  if  "Le 

•See  Vol.  2  of  these  "Foolish  Tales." 


The    Translator's   Preface, 


17 


Roman"  in  its  English  form  finds  a  Publisher,  my  own  few 
words  by  way  of  Preface  may  also  be  read  by  at  least  a  few 
if  not  by  many? 

You  see  a  Book  is  a  vehicle — ^a  carrier— a  messenger;  it 
is  either  a  vehicle — ^a  carrier  of  truth  or  of  falsehood — ^a 
messengtr  of  good  or  of  evil — its  influence  is  necessarily  for 
well-being  or  ill. 

Amongst  the  many  writers  who  have  realized  this  truth 
perhaps  none  is  more  pre-eminent  than  that  eloquent  and 
deservedly-popular  Authoress,  Marie  Corelli. 

She  is  a  writer  of  Prose-Poetry  almost  without  an  equal. 
Her  pen-paintings  are  so  vivid — so  beautiful. 

Take,  for^ii^tance,  her  wonderful  description  of  the 
beauty  of  the  sky  and  of  the  earth  at  the  dawn  of  the  first 
Easter  morning  when  Barabbas  watches  the  coming  of  the 
first  Easter  tide.** 

The  heart  of  the  eloquent  Authoress  is  filled  with  love 
and  gratitude  to  the  great  Father  for  all  His  goodness  as 
seen  in  the  wonders  of  the  Earth  and  the  sky ;  and  was  it 
not  another  great  Poet — an  inspired  one — who  said :  "Out 
of  the  fulness  of  the  heart  the  mouth  speaketh  ?"*'' 

In  that  beautiful  Prose-Poem  "Ardath"  Marie  Corelli  has 
tried  in  her  own  way  to  teach  the  very  same  lesson  which 
that  eloquent  and  popular  writer,  the  Rev.  Charles  M. 
Sheldon,  has  been  trying  to  teach  in  another  way.  We  are 
all  Stewards :  the  great  Master  has  given  to  us  various  and 
different  gifts — we  cannot  all  speak  or  write  alike. 

The  author  of  "In  His  Steps,"  "The  Crucifixion  of  Phillip 
i  Strong,"  and  "The  Miracle  at  Markham"  cannot  write  in 
[the  same  way  as  the  author  of  "Ardath" — ^but  each  eloquent 
[writer  has  had  the  same  object  in  view:  Alwyn,  the  great 
Poet — ^the  author  of  "Nourh^ilma" — lives  but  to  himself — 
[and  within  himself. 

Of  himself  he  could  have  truly  used  the  words  so  aptly 
land  forcibly  quoted  by  the  late  Prof.  Drummond,  in  that 
[eloquent  peroration  which  closes   that   classic  little  work, 


•8) 


"Barrabbas."    Marie  Corelli. 
David.— Psalms. 


<'-^ 


"^^S^^r 


i8 


TAe    Translator's   Preface. 


"The  Greatest  Thing  in  the  World"— 


"I  lived  for  myself,  I  thought  for  myself, 
"For  myself,  and  none  beside — 
"Just  as  if  Jesus  had  never  lived, 
"As  if  He  had  never  died." 

Alwyn  is  led  to  accept  Cristianity — he  becomes  a  simple, 
humble  follower  of  the  Master  and  then  as  his  friend  Villiers 
says,  "From  an  embittered,  sarcastic,  disappointed,  violently 
"ambitious  man,  he  had  become  softened,  gracious,  kindly 
" — showing  the  greatest  tenderness  and  forethought  for 
"others,  even  in  small  every-day  trifles,  while  for  himself  he 
"took  no  care."     (Page  488,  Chap.  V.,  Part  III.) 

There  are  several  sentences  in  that  fifth  chapter  of  the 
Tnird  Part  of  the  Book  which  deserve  attention,  Alwyn 
has  become  famous — a  certain  brilliant  society  lady — the 
Duchesse  de  la  Santoisie — has  invited  a  large  number  of 
literateurs  and  savants  to  meet  the  new  "lion."  Some  of 
those  preseent  are  inclined  to  be  "skeptical"  or  to  pretend  to 
be  skeptical  concerning  religious  matters ;  in  some  quarters 
it  was  apparently  perhaps  considered  a  little  fashionable  to 
be  a  little  skeptical. 

It  was  a  surprise  to  fotne  of  these  fashionable  would-be 
skeptics  to  listen  to  such  eloquent  and  forcible  language  as 
this  from  the  literary  "lion"  of  the  hour :  "  'Nay,  then/ 
"said  Alwyn  quickly,  with  a  darkening  flash  in  his  eyes,  *if 
"  'women  give  up  faith,  let  the  world  prepare  for  strange 
"  'disaster !  Good,  God-loving  women — 'women  who  pray, 
"  'women  who  hope,  women  who  inspire  men  to  do  the  best 
'"that  is  in  them — these  are  the  safety  and  glory  of  nations. 
"  'When  women  forget  to  kneel,  when  women  cease  to  teach 
"  'their  children  the  'Our  Father,'  by  whose  grandly  simple 

plea  humanity  claims  Divinity  as  its  origin,  then  shall  we 

learn  what  is  meant  by  'men's  hearts  failing  them  for  fear 
"  'and  looking  after  those  things  which  are  coming  on  the 
"  'earth.'  A  woman  who  denies  Christ  repudiates  Him  who 
"  'above  all  others  made  her  sex  as  free  and  honored  as 
"  'everywhere  in  Christendom  it  is.  He  never  refused 
"'woman's  prayer.     He  had  patience    for  her    weakness. 


(( <. 


« ( 


The    Translator's   Preface 


19 


"'pardon  for  her  sins;  and  any  book  written  by  woman's 
"  'hand  that  does  Him  the  smallest  shadow  of  wrong  is  to 
"  'me  as  gross  an  act  as  that  of  one  who,  loaded  with  benefits, 
"  'scruples  not  to  murder  his  benefactor.'  "     (Page  496.) 

One  gets  the  idea  from  reading  "The  Romance  of  Two 
Worlds"  and  "Ardath"  that  the  gifted  Authoress  is  a  mem- 
ber of  that  particular  branch  of  the  "great  Church  Catholic," 
called  by  Protestants  the  Roman  Catholic  Church — ^by  way 
of  distinction. 

But  at  all  events  one  feels  sure  the  eloquent  writer  of 
"Ardath"  is  a  broad  churchwoman .  The  husband  of  the 
Duchess  says  to  the  "lion"  of  the  evening,  "  'I  confess  I  am 
"  'surprised,  Mr.  Alwyn,  that  you,  a  man  of  such  genius  and 
"  'ability,  should  be  still  in  the  leading-strings  of  the 
"'Church.'  'There  is  no  Church,'  returned  Alwyn  quietly. 
"  'The  world  is  waiting  for  one.  The  Alpha  Beta  of  Chris- 
"  'tianity  has  been  learned  and  recited  more  or  less  badly 
"  'by  the  children  of  men  for  nearly  two  thousand  years; 
"  'the  actual  grammar  and  meaning  of  the  whole  language 
"  'has  yet  to  be  deciphered.  There  have  been,  and  are,  what 
"  'are  called  Churches — one  especially  which,  if  it  would 
"  'bravely  discard  mere  vulgar  superstition,  and  accept, 
"  'absorb,  and  use  the  discoveries  of  science  instead,  might, 
"  'and  pK)ssibly  will,  blossom  into  the  true,  universal,  and 
"  'pure  Christian  fabric.  Meanwhile,  in  the  shaking  to  and 
fro  of  kings,  the  troublous  sifting  of  the  wheat  from  the 
chaflf,  we  must  be  content  to  follo\y  by  'the  way  of  the 
Cross'  as  best  we  can.  Christianity  has  fallen  into  dis- 
repute, probably  because  of  the  self-remuneration  it 
demands ;  for  in  this  age  the  primal  object  of  each  indi- 
vidual is  manifestly  to  serve  self  only.  It  is  a  wrong 
road,  a  side-lane  that  leads  nowhere ;  and  we  shall  inevit- 
ably have  to  turn  back  upon  it  and  recover  the  right  path 
"  * — if  not  now,  why  then  hereafter.'  His  voice  had  a 
"tremor  of  pain  within  it.  He  was  thinking  of  the  millions 
"of  men  and  women  who  were  voluntarily  wandering  astray 
"into  a  darkness  they  did  not  dream  of ;  and  his  heart,  the 
"great,  true  heart  of  the  poet,  became  filled  with  an  inde- 
"scribable  passion  of  yearning.    'No  wonder,*  he  mused,  'no 


<(  ( 


« ( 


30 


The    Translatdr'  s   Preface, 


It 


"  'wonder  that  Christ  came  hither  for  the  sake  of  love ! — to 
"  'rescue,  to  redeem,  to  save,  to  bless  I  O  Divine  sympathy 
"  'for  sorrow !  If  I,  as  a  man,  can  feel  such  aching  pity  for 
"  'the  woes  of  others,  how  vast,  how  limitless,  how  tender 
"  'must  be  the  pity  of  God.'  "     (Page  497.) 

Then  when  at  last  Alwyn  can  leave  the  necessarily  uncon- 
genial company  of  the  people  who  had  been  called  together 
to  "lionize"  him — as  it  were — he  feels  he  is  breathing  a  dif- 
ferent atmosphere.    The  Book  goes  on  to  say : 

"Once  outside  the  house,  he  drew  a  long  breath  of  relief, 
"and  glanced  gratefully  up  at  the  sky,  bright  with  a  glisten- 
"ing  multitude  of  stars.  Thank  God,  there  were  worlds 
"in  that  glorious  expanse  of  ether,  peopled  with  loftier  types 
"of  being  than  what  is  called  humanity" !  (Pages  501,  502.) 

Hundreds  of  years  previously  almost  the  same  thought 
had  come  to  the  good,  patient  old  monk,  Thomas  A.  Kempis, 
writing  in  his  monastery  cell,  and  he  wrote  these  words : 

"The  greatest  of  the  saints  avoided  the  company  of  men 
as  much  as  they  could,  and  rather  chose  to  serve  God  in 
secret. 

"As  often  as  I  have  been  amongst  men,  said  one,  I  have 
"returned  less  a  man;  this  we  often  experience  when  we 
"talk  long."*^ 

And  the  eloquent  Preacher  and  Poet  who  wrote  that 
inspiring  Poem,  "Trust  in  God  and  do  the  right"-^had  very 
much  the  same  idea  in  his  mind  when  he  penned  the  words : 

"Cease  from  man  and  look  above  thee, 
"Trust  in  God  and  do  the  right."*' 

Doubtless  every  author  when  he  sits  down  to  write  should 
feel  that  be  has  a  message  to  deliver  to  the  worlds — and,  with 
God's  help,  he  should  endeavor  faithfully  and  to  the  best  of 
his  ability  to  deliver  that  message  even  if  "Ardath"  con- 
tained no  other  message  to  the  world  than  -what  is  contained 
in  the  opening  lines  of  the  last  chapter  entitled  "In  the 
Cathedral" — ^the  book  would  not  have  been  written  in  vain. 

The  duty  of  thankfulness  to  the  Great  Father  has  never 

*a)    "Of  the  Imitation  of  C?hrt8t."   Chap.  20,  Book  I. 
*(2)    Macleod.  Norman,  the  Rev.  D.  D. 


The    Trans  lator*  s   Pre/ace. 


21 


been  set  forth  more  eloquently,  more  forcibly  or  more  beau- 
tifully : 

"A  booming,  thunderous,  yet  mellow  sound! — 2l  grand, 
"solemn,  sonorous  giving  of  full  and  weighty  rhythm,  strik- 
"ing  the  air  with  deep,  slowly  measured  resonance,  like  the 
"rolling  of  close  cannon  f  Awake,  all  ye  people  I  Awake  to 
"prayer  and  praise !  for  the  night  is  past  and  sweet  morning 
"reddens  in  the  east ;  another  day  is  born — a  day  in  which 
"to  win  God's  grace  and  pardon ;  another  wonder  of  light, 
"movement,  creation,  beauty,  love !    Awake,  awake ! 

"Be  glad  and  grateful  for  the  present  joy  of  life — ^this 
"life,  dear  harbinger  of  life  to  come  I  Open  your  eyes,  ye 
"drowsy  mortals,  to  the  Divine  blue  of  the  beneficient  sky, 
"the  golden  beams  of  the  sun,  the  colour  of  flowers,  the 
"foliage  of  trees,  the  flash  of  sparkling  waters  I 

"Open  your  ears  to  the  singing  of  birds,  the  whispering 
"of  winds,  the  gay  ripple  of  children's  laught?er,  the  soft 
"murmurs  of  home-affection! — for  all  these  things  ire 
"freely  bestowed  upon  you  with  each  breaking  dawn,  and 
"will  you  offer  unto  God  no  thanksgiving?  Awake!  awake! 
"The  voice  you  have  yourselves  set  in  your  high  cathedral 
"towers  reproaches  your  lack  of  love  with  its  iron  tongue, 
"and  summons  you  all  to  worship  Him,  the  ever-glorious, 
"through  whose  mercy  alone  you  live!"    (Pages  553-554*) 

Some  one  has  said — did  he  not  ? — was  it  not  the  inspired 
Poet  David?— 

"New  every  morning  is  His  Love." 


One  of  the  matters  in  this  world  which  one  cannot  under- 
stand is  the  great  ingratitude  towards  the  great  Father — 
"Le  Bon  Dieu" — 'which  seems  to  exist. 

One  thinks  with  such  wonder  and  regret  that  there  are 
so  many  people  who  from  hour  to  hour  and  from  day  to  day 
and  from  year  to  year  seem  to  lead  such  thankless  lives; 
that  there  are  many,  many  people  who  eat  the  food,  God — 
the  all-bountiful  Father  provides  for  them — without  ever 
thinking  of  thanking  Him  for  His  great  goodness;  that 
there  are  many  people  who  can  look  up  into  the  starry  sky 


sa 


The    Translator's   Preface. 


— God's  great  Firmament  of  Beauty — ^without  a  thought  of 

gratitude  to  the  one  who  "made  and  loveth  all."** 
How  can  any  one  even  gaze  into  God's  great  sky  without 

recalling  the  words  of  that  great  lover  of  nature  and  inspired 

Poet  who  said : 

"Oh  Lord — how  manifest  are  all  Thy  works  I 
"In  wisdom  hast  Thou  made  them  all."** 

And  then  the  gifted  Authoress  has  made  the  novel 
"Ardath"  end  so  well  and  so  happily — ^the  Hero  gets  the 
Heroine — "and  they  all  live  happily  ever  afterwards." 

All  novels  and  story  books  should  end  that  way. 

This  world  does  not  need  sad  books — sad  stories.  Far 
too  many  sad  stories  have  already  been  written. 

My  own  candid  opinion — confidentially,  dear  "Gentle 
Reader" — ^and  "between  you  and  me  and  the  gate  post" — ^as 
the  saying  is — ^is  that  if  a  Novelist  or  a  Poet  cannot  make 
his  novel  or  poem  end  happily  and  well  he  should  not  write 
at  all. 

That  is  one  thing  I  like  about  the  "Uncle  Remus"*  Stories 
— ^and  about  most  "Fairy  Tales ;"  they  generally  end  up  all 
right.  As  Gert  and  Win  say,  they  commence  "Once  upon  a 
time,"  and  end  "And  they  alMived  happily  ever  afterwards." 

And  that  is  as  it  should  be. 

And  there  is  this  point  to  be  observed  about  the  "Uncle 
Remus"  Stories  and  about  "Fairy  Tales"  generally :  if  there 
is  a  villain  in  the  story  and  if  it  becomes  necessary  that  he 
be  killed  off  or  done  away  with— it  is  done  in  such  a  funny, 
humorous  way  that  you  cannot  help  but  laugh — no  matter 
how  kind  and  tender-hearted  you  may  be. 

If  the  Gentle  Reader  does  not  entirely  grasp  my  meaning 
let  him  read  silently  to  himself  (or  preferably  let  him  read 
aloud  to  some  "chilluns")  the  thirteenth  chapter  of  "Uncle 
Remus"— which  is  entitled  "The  Awful  Fate  of  the  Wolf." 

Since  writing  the  above  lines  I  have  come  across  the  fol- 
lowing pretty  little  poem.  I  append  it  to  this  Preface  be- 
cause it  illustrates  the  idea  which  I  have  been  tr3ring  to 

*0)   "The  Rime  of  the  Ancient  Mariner."  Samuel  Taylor  Coleridse. 
•(»  David.    Psalms.  _  .    . 

*"Uncle  Remus:  His  Sonss  and  his  Sayings:  The  Folk  Lore  of  the 
Old  Plantation."   Joel  Chandler  Harris. 


The    Trans  faiffr'  i   Preface* 


23 


convey  to  the  mind  of  the  "Gentle  Reader,"  viz:  that  all 
stories,  romances  and  poems  should  end  well. 

The  Poem  was  written  by  Carolyn  Wells  and  was  con- 
tained in  the  "Family  Herald  and  Weekly  Star"  (Montreal) 
in  its  issue  of  September  13th,  1898. 

This  morning  I  came  across  the  page  on  which  the  Poem 
appeared — the  pretty  pictures  caught  my  eye  at  once — and 
I  cut  out  that  part  of  the  page  which  contained  the  Poem 
and  the  pictures,  and  I  append  it  to  my  MS.  thus : 


Once  there  were  Bome  ailly  kittent, 

And  they  knitted  wooIt  mittens 

To  bestow  upon  the  freezing  Hottentots ; 


Then  the  kittens,  almost  weeping,' 
Came  to  where  a  cow  lay  sleeping, 
And  they  woke  her  with  the  pitteons  request 


Bnt  the  Hottentots  refused  them, 
Saying  that  they  never  used  them 
Unless  crochetted  of  red  with  yellow  spots. 

80  the  silly  little  kittens 

Took  their  blue  and  white  striped  mittens 

To  a  bear  who  lived  within  a  hollow  tree ; 


"Won't  yon  wear  our  mittens  furryT" 

Said  the  oow :  "My  dears,  don't  worry, 

I  will  put  them  on  as  soon  as  I  am  dressed." 

Then  the  cow  put  on  her  bonnet. 

With  a  wreath  of  roses  on  it. 

And  a  beautiful  mantilla,  fringed  white ; 


..t- 


■1 


The  bear  responded  sadly, 

"I  would  wear  your  mittens  glady. 

But  I  fear  they  are  too  gay  for  sucli  as  me." 


And  she  donned  the  pretty  mittens, 
While  the  silly  Uttle  kittens 
Clapped  their  paws  in  admiration  at  the 
sight. 


•sl<^ 


24 


Th€    Translator's   Pre/ace. 


And  within  the  last  day  or  two  my  attention  has  also  been 
called  to  an  interesting  and  most  delightful  little  book  lately 
issued  from  the  Press  and  entitled  "Santa  Claus's  Partner." 
I  mention  this  little  book  because  the  writer***  has  endeavored 
in  his  own  way  to  teach  the  same  great  truth  which  Charles 
Dickens  in  his  way  taught  the  world  in  "A  Christmas 
Carol,"  the  same  tiuth  which  the  Rev.  Charles  M.  Sheldon 
has  lately  taught  in  that  already  well-known  little  work,  "In 
His  Steps,"  the  truth  that  we  arc  all  Giod's  stewards  with 
respect  to  the  wealth  and  possessions  which,  in  His  great 
goodness,  He  gives  us — ^and  that  it  is  only  when  we  recog- 
nize that  great  truth  and  whilst  we  recognize  it  we  really 
can  be  happy  ourselves:  in  making  others  happy  we  are 
making  ourselves  happy. 

This  little  book — "Santa  Claus's  Partner" — puts  this 
truth  before  the  reader  very  clearly; 

"Ten  minutes  later  Livingstone  was  seated  at  the  table 
"with  an  appetite  like  a  school  boy's.  It  was  the  happiest 
"meal  Livingstone  had  eaten  in  many  a  long  day;  for,  all 
"alone  as  he  was,  he  was  not  alone.  Thought-of-others  sat 
"at  the  board  and  a  cheery  companion  it  is."    (Page  156.) 

"As  Livingstone  mounted  the  stair,  though  he  was  sensi- 
"ble  of  fatigue,  it  was  the  fatigue  of  the  body,  so  delicious 
"to  those  who  have  known  that  of  the  mind,  and  he  felt  pity 
"as  well  as  loathing  for  the  poor,  worn  creature  who  had 
"climbed  the  same  stair  a  few  hours  before.     (Page  157.) 

"He  went  to  bed  and  slept  as  he  had  not  slept  for  months, 
"perhaps  for  years — ^not  dreamlessly,  but  the  dreams  were 
"pleasant.  Now  and  then  lines  of  vague  figures  appeared 
"to  him,  but  a  little  girl  with  a  smiling  face  came  and  played 
"bo-peep  with  him  over  them,  and  presently  sprang  up  and 
"threw  her  arms  about  his  neck  and  made  him  take  her  in 
"a  sleigh  to  a  wdnderful  shop  where  they  could  get  mar- 
"vellous  presents ;  among  them  Youth,  and  Friendship,  and 
"Happiness.    (Pages  158,  159.) 

"  'Let's  go  and  have  a  game  of  blind-man's  buflf ;  I  am 
"  'beginning  to  feel  young  again,*  he  said,  and  linking  his 
"arm  in  Clark's,  he  dragged  him  back  to  the  others,  where, 

*Thoma8  Nelson  Page. 


The    Translator's   Pre/ace. 


25 


"in  a  few  minutes  they  were  all  of  one  ac^e,  and  a  very  riot 
"of  fun  seemed  to  have  broken  loose.    (Fage  168.) 

"The  day  seemed  to  have  been  one  long  dream  of  delight. 
"From  the  moment  when  he  had  turned  to  go  after  the  fittle 
"child  to  ask  her  to  show  him  the  way  to  help  others,  he 
"had  walked  in  a  new  land ;  lived  in  a  new  world ;  breathed 
"a  new  air;  been  warmed  by  a  new  sun."    (Page  173.) 

If  Charles  Dickens  had  been  living  one  might  have 
thought  "Boz"  had  had  a  hand  in  the  preparation  of  "Santa 
Claus's  Partner."  The  same  master-hand  which  so  vividly 
threw  on  the  canvas  the  portraits  of  the  Cherrybyle 
Brothers**  and  Old  George*'  might  have  been  expected  to 
have  drawn  the  beautiful  pen-picture  of  "Berryman  Living- 
stone," who  in  his  later  life  acknowledges  to  the  full  the 
Doctrine  of  the  Stewardship  and  follows  the  Master  in  the 
same  way  as  that  in  which  the  wealthy  Scrooge  and  the 
wealthy  Cheerybyle  Brothers  followed  Him. 

And,  like  them,  he  was  made  very  happy.  One  cannot 
spend  his  life  and  the  means  with  which  God  hath  blessed 
him  in  making  others  happy  without  being  made  happy 
himself. 

Charles  Dickens  beautifully  expressed  this  truth  when  in 
the  concluding  words  of  "Nicholas  Nickleby" — speaking  of 
the  Cheerybyle  Brothers — he  said:  "The  twin  brothers 
"retired.  Who  needs  to  be  told  that  they  were  happy? 
"They  were  surrounded  by  happiness  of  their  own  creation, 
"and  lived  but  to  increase  it." 

It  is  indeed  a  glad  and  hopeful  "sign  of  the  times"  that 
such  books  as  "Santa  Claus's  Partner"  are  being  written. 
It  is  even  a  better  and  more  hopeful  sign  that  such  books 
are  so  popular  and  are  being  so  widely  read. 

What  a  happy  world  this  would  be — what  an  enjoyable 
world  in  which  to  live — if  a  large  percentage  of  the  rich 
men  and  women  of  the  world  would  believe  in  the  great 
truth — ^the  Doctrine  of  the  Stewardship — so  beautifully 
taught  by  the  books  to  which  I  have  just  referred.  May 
not  we  all  reverently  say,  "God  speed  the  day?"    O  1  do 


■.V 


•S?" 
•^ 


♦(1)    "Nicholas  Nickleby." 
•(2)    "A  ChrtBtmas  Carol." 


36 


TAe    Translator's  Preface. 


hope  for  the  sake  of  the  Master's  children  that  the  day  may 
soon  daiwn  when  the  number  of  "Cheerybyle  Brothers," 
"Old  Scrooges"  and  "Berryman  Livingstones"  will  be 
largely  increased  and  that  we  may  meet  them — ^humbly  fol- 
lowing "In  His  Steps" — everywhere,  and  in  all  the  walks 
of  Life. 


LE  ROMAN  b'UNE  PUSSIE  CHAT 

A    TALE    OF    YE    OLDEN    TIMES. 

A  Tragedy,  Opera  Bouffe,  Matinee,  and  Children's 
Pantomime   Combined. 

PAR  HENRIQUE  (Old  Man)  RINGTAIL. 

BILL      OF      THE      PLAY 

THE    CAST. 
DRAMATIS    PERSONAE. 


Eine. 


Only  Daughter  of  the  Laird  of  Sununer- 
trees.  She  becomes  the  first  Queen  in  the 
Land  of  the  Grimalkins.  One  of  the  "Bon- 
nie Leddies." 


Grimalkin  the    The  First  and  only  King  in  the  Land  of  the 
First.  Grimalkins.  He  resigns  his  Throne  in  favor 

of  a  Queen  and  becomes  z  Sheep  Rancher 

in  the  Blue  Mountains. 


The  Laird  of 
Summertrees. 

Retta. 


Ulric. 


Machelle. 


The  niece  of  the  Laird  of  Summertrees — 
the  inseparable  friend  of  Elfie.  When  the 
latter  becomes  Queen  of  the  Land  of  the 
Grimalkins  Retta  becomes  her  maid-and 
lady-in  waiting.  Retta  is  also  one  of  "the 
Bonnie  Leddies." 

Le  Sieur  D'Ulric-— one  of  "the  Queen-Mak- 
ers"— z.  Sheep  Rancher  in  the  Blue  Moun- 
tains. 

The  neighbor  and  great  friend  of  D'Ulric. 
M.  Machelle  is  also  a  Sessional  Writer  in 
the  Noble  and  Hereditary  House  of  Sieurs. 
He  is  also  one  of  "the  Queen-Makers." 


X 


Iftrik. 


-*♦*, 


mm< 


28 

"Old  John." 
Mile.  Violette 


Bill  of  the   Play. 

The  faithful  servant  and  follower  of  the 
Laird  of  Summertrees  and  of.  "the  Bonnie 
Leddies." 

"Ma  Violette— sweet  violet"— Une  Belle 
Modiste  aux  Dollies. 


Old  Man  Covet  K  hard-hearted  money-lender,  usurer  and 
Grab.  miser.    His  motto  is  "business  is  business," 

but  he  does  not  sufficiently  beware  of  the 
widders  and  so  he  is  cotched  up  wid. 

■The  Hon.  Brer  The  Premier  and  Minister  of  Agriculture — 
Heavyweight     the  Leader  of  "the  Ins" — ^"the  Mauves." 
Holdemtight. 

Brer  Feather-     The  Leader  of  His  Majesty's  Loyal  Oppo- 
stone  Johnsing.  sition    in    the    House    of    Commons — the 
Leader  of  "the  Outs,"  "the  Blues." 

The  Hon.  the 
Member  for 
South  Pussan- 
dra  in  the 
Common's 
House. 

Oscar  the  Sage.     "The  Hermit  of  the  Mountains." 

Mr.  Williamson.  The  honest  yeoman  who  owns  the  two  "cow 
bossies." 

Mrs.  Williamson.The  wife  of  Mr.  Williamson, "the  lady  who 
owns  the  lovely  pansy  beds." 


"Old  Man 
Jackson." 

"Sis  Susan 

Mary 

Jackson." 


"An  enterprising  merchant  at  "The  Cor- 
ners." He  has  been  eddicated  at  a  "Bigness 
Collidge"  in  "Little  Muddy  York." 

The  fair  wife  of  "old  man  Jackson."  It  is 
supposed  by  some  antiquarians  that  it  was 
in  honor  of  this  lady  that  the  appellation  "the 
Sue"  and  "the  Susan  Mary"  were  given  to 


Tm-^?:^m^4 


Old  Man- 
O'Flaherty. 

The  Misses 
O'Flaherty: 


Bill  of  the   Play . 


29 


the  classic  spot  theretofore  known  as  "The 
Comers." 

A  prosperous  farmer  livingiii  the  country 
back  of  "The  Sue." 

The  fair  ladies  who  opened  the  "milliner 
shop"  at  "The  Comers." 


Act  I. 

THE  VILLAIN  IN  THE  ASCENDANT. 

S  c  BN  E  :    In  the  Wilds  of  '<New  Ontario. 

Tempore  :    King   William  the    Fourth,    of    England,    and    King 
Grimalkin  the  First,  of  The  Land  of  the  Grimalkins. 


NCE  upon  a  time  in  ye  olden  Days  there  lived 
a  sweet  and  graceful  young  Lady.  Not  that 
there  was  or  is  anything  unusual  or  startling 
in  tha;t  assertion,  because  all  young  Ladies  and 
all  middle-aged  Ladies  and  all  elderly  Ladies 
have  been  and  are  sweet  and  graceful. 

But  this  particular  young  Lady  was  particularly  sweet. 

Her  name  was  "Elfie."  Her  father  was  the  Laird  of  Sum- 
mertrees. 

At  one  time  he  owned  a  large  Estate  or  Ranch  and  was 
considered  very  wealthy,  but  gradually  his  lands  and  his 
goods  had  melted  away — faded  away — as  it  were — ^until  he 
had  hardly  any  possession  left  which  he  could  call  his  own. 

The  Laird  and  the  fair  Elfie  lived  on  the  last  and. only 
piece  of  land  which  yet  remained  to  them  out  of  the  "broad 
acres"  which  once  bore  the  name  of  Summertrees." 

People  largely  blamed  a  certain  money-lender — "Old  Man 
Covet  Grab,"  for  the  losses  and  misfortunes  which  had 
seemed  of  late  years  to  fall  so  thickly  on  the  head  of  the 
present  Laird  of  Summertrees. 

No  one  seemed  to  know  just  exactly  how  or  in  what 
manner  the  Laird  Had  got  into  the  clutches  of  the  greedy 
money-lender.  It  was  a  matter  of  history  to  a  large  ex- 
tent. It  was  generally  supposed,  however,  that  the  estate 
of  Summertrees  was  already  largely  encumbered  when  the 
prsent  Laird  came  into  possession,  and  that  it  was  in  the 
effort  to  free  the  estate  from  some  of  its  burden  that  the 
Laird  became  further  involved  and  to  an  extent  which 
seemed  hoi)eless. 

The  Laird  was  not  much  of  a  "hand  at  business" — as  the 
saying  is — ^he  had  never  been  to  any  of  those  places  they 


m 


The   Villain  in   the   Ascendant. 


31 


call  "Bizness  Collidges."  He  was  certainly  no  match  for 
such  an  astute  "business  man"  as  was  "Old  Man  Covet 
Grab." 

Matters  were  now  so  much  involved  that  the  position 
really  seemed  hopeless.  The  Laird  did  not  understand  how 
it  had  all  come  about — ^and  if  he  did  not  see  through  matters 
it  goes  without  saying  that  his  winsome  daughter  did  not 
understand  the  position. 

But  she  saw  two  things  pretty  clearly — ^first  that  matters 
were  very  much  involved  and  secondly,  that  the  old  money- 
lender was  persecuting  her  and  making  her  very  miserable 
with  his  attention. 

For,  absurd  as  it  m^y  setm,  the  old  miser  really  aspired 
to  the  hand  of  "la  Belle  de  Summertrees" — ^as  some  one 
poetically  had  called  the  Laird's  fair  daughter. 

The  young  lady  did  not  treat  him  rudely,  but  she  tried  to 
show  him  in  every  way  possible  that  his  suit  was  a  hopeless 
one.  Sometimes  she  thought  she  would  mention  the  matter 
to  her  father  and  thus  rid  herself  of  the  obnoxious  suitor. 
But  then  on  reflection  it  occurred  to  her  that  perhaps  she 
had  better  net  mention  the  matter,  as  it  might  only  make 
business  matters  worse  for  her  father. 

He,  on  his  part,  had.  no  idea  that  the  covetous  old  miser 
had  set  his  wishes  on  such  a  fair  prize;  and  it  was  with 
feelings  of  amazement  and  repulsion  that  he  listened  to  the 
old  man  one  day  as  he  laid  bare  his  plans  and  his  wishes  in 
the  matter. 

There  was  a  mortgage  on  the  remaining  few  acres  of  the 
Estate — the  old  Manor  House  and  the  few  acres  immedi- 
ately surrounding  it.  The  mortgage  was  some  days  over- 
due and  the  Laird  was  not  surprised  when  he  was  told  "Old 
Man  Covet  Grab"  had  called  to  see  him.  At  the  time  the 
Laird  was  sitting  in  his  Library  by  the  open  window.  This 
window  was  a  door-window — so  to  speak — and  it  opened 
on  to  the  large  verandah  which  surrounded  two  sides  of  the 
old  Manor  House. 

The  Laid  had  just  had  breakfast  and  was  comfortably 
smoking  a  pipe  which  his  winsome  daughter  had  filled  with 
her  fair  hands. 


■-4I 


32 


The   Villain   inthe  A'scendant. 


- 

.  .-r 

6.x  \ 

Wi& 

^S-ht 

"  'i 

f 

Elfie  Had  just  left  her  father  for  a  little  while — there  were 
some  household  matters  needing  her  attention  and  she  had 
just  tripped  away  gaily,  playfully  blowing  a  kiss  to'  her 
father  and  telling  him  she  would  be  back  in  a  few  minutes 
and  would  bring  Retta  with  her. 

Retta,  by  the  way,  was  the  Laird's  niece — a  young  lady 
about  Elfie's  age  and  her  inseparable  companion.  People 
often  thought  they  were  sisters,  as  they  were  always  to- 
gether. But,  whilst  Elfie  was  fair,  with  golden  tresses  and 
eyes  of  liquid  blue  her  companion  was  a  brunette — ^a  dark- 
haired,  dark-eyed  beauty.  The  Laird  loved  them  equally 
well — ^they  were  his  playmates — ^^his  comrades. 

The  two  girls  between  them,  with  the  help  of  "Old  John," 
easily  attended  to  the  simple  menage  of  the  Laird's  house- 
hold. "Old  John"  was  a  character  in  his  way.  That  was 
the  only  name  by  which  he  was  known  far  and  wide  over 
the  country-side. 

He  had  always  lived  on  the  Summertrees  estate  and  had 
become  an  essential  part  of  the  little  household.  One  couid 
not  very  well  think  of  th«  Summertrees  family  without 
thinking  of  the  little  old  man  who  had  almost  "from  time 
immemorial" — ^as  the  saying  is — been  the  faithful  servant 
and  retainer  of  the  Laird  of  Summertrees. 

Years  ago,  when  the  outlook  for  the  family  had  com- 
menced to  look  gloomy  and  forbidding,  the  Laird  had  sug- 
gested two  or  three  times  to  "Old  John"  that  in  his  own 
interest  the  faithful  servant  should  take  service  elsewhere^ — 
that  he  should  attach  himself  to  some  family  whose  fortunes 
— so  to  speak — -were  in  the  "ascendant"  and  not  in  the  "de- 
scendant"— ^and  the  Laird  had  kindly  offered  to  make  the 
matter  his  own  and  to  try  and  find  amongst  some  of  his 
friends  a  suitable  service  for  the  old  man.  But  the  faithful 
rrt ainer  had  taken  the  matter  so  much  to  heart  and  the  very 
liicught  of  ever  leaving  the  service  of  the  Summertrees 
family  seemed  so  much  to  distress  him  that  the  Laird  had 
-     aped  the  subject  and  had  never  since  referred  to  it. 

The  old  man  had  said,  "Does  the  Laird  think  'Old  John* 
"would  wish  to  leave  the  old  Manor  as  long  as  he  can  do  a 
"tap  of  work?" 


The   V  ill  a  in  in   the  Ascendant. 


33 


"But."  said  the  Laird,  "suppose  we  have  no  money  to 
"pay  you,  John  ?    We  would  not  have  you  work  for  noth- 

"ing." 

"I  don't  care  about  that,"  the  old  man  had  said.  "As  long 
"as  there  is  a  crust  to  eat  on  the  old  place,  I  would-  rather 
"eat  it  here  with  the  ones  I  love  so  much  than  to  have  plenty 
"and  live  amongst  strangers." 

And  then  "Old  John"  had  added — half  to  himself — ^and 
half  aloud — "And  what  would  the  bonnie  young  leddies" 
^he  always  called  them  "the  bonnie  young  leddies" — when 
speaking  of  them)  "do  without  'Old  John*?" 

"And,"  he  continued,  "who  would  loolTaTfer  the  Kale  and 
"the  Spinach  and  the  Asparagus  and  the  early  Rhubarb  and 
"the  Lettuce  and  the  Radishes  ?  And  who  would  see  to  the 
"weeding  of  the  strawberry  beds?  And  who  would  prune 
"the  trees?" 

And  as  he  put  these  questions  partly  to  himself  and  partly 
to  his  master,  the  old  man  looked  out  blankly  over  the  big, 
well-kept  garden.  The  conversation  took  place  on  the  large 
verandah  which  overlooked  the  garden.  What  could  the 
Laird  do  but  grasp  the  old  man's  hand  in  a  warm  embrace 
and  say :  "We  all  know  if  the  family  of  Summertrees  has  no 
"other  friend,  they  hWe  one  in  you,  John."  That  was  sev- 
eral years  ago,  and  although  matters  had  steadily  gone  from 
bad  to  worse — and  gradually  acre  after  acre  had  gone  into 
the  clutches  of  the  old  money-lender — "Old  John"  still  re- 
mained the  faithful  servitor  of  the  Summertrees  family,  and 
it  was  his  particular  pride  that  the  Summertrees  garden 
every  spring  produced  the  earliest  Rhubarb  and  the  earliest 
Radishes,  Lettuce,  Spinach  and  Asparagus,  and  that  straw- 
berry beds  were  always  well-weeded  and  bore  the  earliest 
and  most  luscious  strawberries  and  that  the  fruit  trees  were 
always  properly  pruned. 

And  in  the  kitchen  "the  bonnie  young  leddies"  could  not 
very  well  have  got  on  without  him;  he  built  the  fire — 
brought  in  fuel  carried  from  the  spring  almost  endless  pails 
of  water — and  all  day  long  was  doing  "no  end  of  chores," 
and  in  a  hundred  ways  saved  his  fair  young  mistresses  many 
a  step  and  many  a  labor. 


ifs^?^:7^;S?-!csg!^7'F^^ 


34 


The    Villain  in   the  Ascendant . 


Ir 


They,  on  their  part,  looked  on  the  old  man  as  a  brother, 
and  if  he  had  been  their  real  brother  they  could  not  have 
showed  him  more  kindness. 

Well,  Elfie  had  not  left  her  father  on  that  beautiful  sum- 
mer morning  more  than  about  five  minutes  when  she  re- 
turned and  announced  Mr.  Covet  Grab.  After  his  daughter 
had  retired  the  Laird  courteously  asked  his  visitor  to  be 
seated,  and  then  waited  to  know  his  errand. 

The  old  usurer  shuffled  imeasily  dn  his  chair  for  a  few 
minutes  and  then  said:  "Well,  I  suppose,  Mr.  Summer- 
"trees,  you  know  the  reason  why  I  have  called  this  morning 
"to  see  you  ?" 

The  Laird  not  making  any  reply,  the  old  man  commenced 
to  fumble  in  his  pockets  and  brought  out  a  note  book,  and, 
looking  at  it,  read : 

"May  1st.  Seventh  mortgage  Summertrees  due — ^princi- 
"pal  and  i  year's  interest.  Last  year's  interest  still  in  ar- 
"rear !  Now,  Laird,  do  you  wish  me  to  go  into  the  figures 
"again  ?  When  I  was  here  some  weeks  ago  I  went  into  the 
"figures  pretty  carefully — but  if  you  wish  me  to  do  so,  I  will 
"go  into  them  again." 

"No,  Mr.  Covet  Grab,  I  really  will  not  trouble  you  to  go 
"into  the  figures  again." 

"Well,  sir,  it  is  now  the  middle  of  June.  I  have  allowed 
"you  six  weeks'  grace.  I  hope  you  will  let  me  have  your 
"cheque  for  the  amount  now,  so  that  I  can  close  up  the  ac- 
"count  and  have  done  with  it.  I  need  the  money  and  must 
"have  it." 

"Well,  Mr.  Covet  Grab,  if  you  couTd  allow  the  matter  to 
"stand  for  a  few  weeks  longer  I  would  try  and  arrange  the 
"matter— I  think." 

"No,  sir,  I  cannot  let  the  majter  stand  even  a  day  longer. 
"When  I  was  here  the  other  day — some  weeks  ago— I  said 
"that  I  needed  the  money,  and  that  I  could  not  let  the  mat- 
"ter  remain  unsettled,  and  you  then  said  you  would  try  and 
"arrange  it.  Now,  I  don't  want  to  foreclose  this  mortgage, 
"and  I  would  prefer  that  you  pay  me  the  money.  This  place 
"is  not  worth  to  me  the  amount  of  my  debt,  and  if  I  had  it 


The   Villain  in   the  Ascendant. 


35 


"on  my  hands  I  might  have  hard  work  to  realize  my  debt 
"out  of  it." 

"Why,  surely  you  would  not  take  away  this  lovely  place 
"from  us— our  home — would  you?"  said  the  Laird. 

"Not  if  you  pay  me  the  money  you  owe — but  'business  is 
"'business' — ^as  tlie  saying  is,"  answered  the  irascible 
usurer. 

"You  have  surely  some  heart  in  you,  Mr.  Covet  Grab," 
continued  the  anxious  Laird.  "This  is  the  only  place  you 
"have  left  to  us  out  of  all  the  broad  acres  we  once  owned. 
"Little  by  little  you  have  taken  our  possessions  from  us. 
"Field  after  field  has  gone — forest  after  forest!  All  you 
"have  left  us  is  this  dear  old  manor  house  and  an  acre  of 
"garden  and  an  acre  of  woodland — two  acres  only  left  out  of 
"how  many,  Mr.  Covet  Grab?" 

"I  have  not  made  much  profit  out  of  the  transaction  any- 
"way,"  answered  the  usurer.  "I  would  far  rather  you  had 
"paid  me  the  money.    I  did  not  want  to  take  the  land." 

"Where  will  we  go  if  you  take  this  last  portion  of  the 
"estate  ?"  continued  the  poor  Laird. 

"That  is  none  of  my  affair,  of  course  I  'Business  is  busi- 
"  'ness,'  says  L    Pay  me  the  money  and  keep  the  land." 

"Hadn't  you  better  be  counting  out  the  money,  Laird? 
"We  are  losing  time." 

The  Laird  only  could  stare  blandly  before  him.  Through 
the  open  door  leading  ooit  on  the  verandah  he  could  see  the 
beautiful  garden,  the  pride  of  the  whole  family,  and  away  at 
the  further  end  he  could  see  the  bent  form  of  "Old  John"  as 
he  bent  over  the  miuch-prized  strawberry  beds.  What  would 
"Old  John"  say  when  he  heard  the  sad  news  ? 

In  the  distance  he  could  see  the  blue  hills,  some  of  which, 
at  one  time,  were  part  of  the  estate.  What  merry  "tramps" 
he  and  "the  girls,"  attended  by  their  faithful  servitor,  had 
often  had  to  "the  hills."  Gathering  the  earliest  "May  Flow- 
ers" in  the  spring,  the  beautiful  ferns  in  the  later  summer, 
and  in  the  golden  Fall  the  beautiful  pictured  maple  leaves. 
And  he  thought  of  the  fun  they  had  had  togethef  folbwing 
the  windings  of  some  mountain  stream  as  it  rippled  over  the 
stones  and   gravel  and  eddied  around  the  logs  and  trees 


.*• 


36 


The   Villain  in   the  Ascendant. 


•^: 


n-^: 


which  here  and  there  impeded  its  course.  He  and  "the 
girls"  knew  well  the  course  of  each  of  the  little  streams 
which  wended  their  way  through  yon  blue  hills — ^they  knew 
where  all  the  "pools"  could  be  found  and  in  which  the  wily 
trout  lurked  waiting  for  their  prey.  Many  a  fine  trout  had 
the  gay  party  brought  home  in  triumph  as  the  result  of  their 
merry  fishing  excursions.  Oh,  their  lives  had  been  so  happy 
— so  joyous  I  What  a  hard-hearted  man  this  must  be  who 
would  wish  to  destroy  all  this  happiness  and  wreck  their 
lives! 

The  Laird  remained  so  long  staring  blankly  into  the  dis- 
tance that  his  harsh  creditor  grew  impatient  and  burst  in  on 
his  debtor's  sad  musing  rather  abruptly  with  the  remark: 

"You  surely  have  had  long  enough  time  in  the  past  to  think 
"the  whole  thing  over.  All  I  want  is  my  money.  Please 
"let  me  know,  one  way  or  the  other,  what  you  are  going  to 
"do  in  the  matter." 

Then  sadly  the  Laird  rose  up  from  his  seat  and,  facing  his 
tormentor,  said  slowly  and  in  a  tone  of  deep  distress: 
"There  is  nothing  else  I  can  say  except  to  tell  you  that  I 
"have  not  the  money  now.  If  you  wait  for  a  few  weeks,  I 
"hope  in  some  way  I  can  straighten  the  matter  out." 

"I  cannot  wait  another  day ;  in  fact,  not  another  hour,"  re- 
plied the  harsh  creditor  as  he  rose  to  go. 

He  proceeded  as  far  as  the  door,  and  then  before  opening 
it  he  turned  to  the  Laird,  who  had  resumed  his  seat  and  was 
again  looking  blankly  out  on  the  distant  outline  of  the  blue 
hills ;  and  coming  back  a  few  steps  into  the  room,  said :  "I 
"will,  however,  make  you  one  offer :  I  am  rather  afraid  it 
"may  surprise  you  somewhat,  but  I  cannot  help  that :  if  you 
"will  give  me  your  daughter  Elfie  in  marriage,  I  will  forgive 
"the  debt." 

The  Laird  jumped  from  his  seat  in  sudden  astonishment. 
When  the  old  man  had  started  to  speak  he  was  still  looking 
blankly  before  him,  and  he  hardly  heard  his  opening  v^ords, 
bdt  the  latter  portion  fairly  electrified  him,  so  to  speak.  He 
jumped  so  suddenly  from  his  seat  that  the  old  man  retreated 
towards  the  door  and  placed  one  hand  on  the  knob,  as  if  he 
were  afraid  his  creditor  intended  doing  him  bodily  violence. 


The   Villain  in   the  Ascendant. 


37 


But  on  looking,  into  the  face  of  the  Laird  he  could  not  see 
any  trace  of  anger  or  resentment— only  wonder,  surprise 
and  bewilderment. 

"You  look  startled,  Mr.  Summertrees,"  said  the  creditor. 

"Startled,  my  dear  sir;  startled!  I  am  not  sure  that  I 
"heard  you  aright.    Will  you  please  repeat  what  you  said?" 

"I  simply  said.  Laird,  that  if  you  will  give  me  your  fair 
"daughter  Elfie  in  marriage  I  will  forgive  the  debt." 

"My  daughter  1    Elfie!    In  marriage  to  you!" 

"Yes.     Why  not?" 

"Why  not?  Why,  man,  a  thousand  reasons!"  answered, 
the  astonished  Laird. 

"You  need  not  bother  telling  me  the  whole  thousand  rea- 
"sons ;  two  or  three  will  do  me  for  the  present." 

"The  matter  is  too  absurd  to  talk  about  seriously,  sir.  I 
"refuse  to  discuss  it." 

"All  right,  Mr.  Summertrees ;  just  as  you  say.  You  can 
"do  as  you  like.  You  can  keep  your  daughter  and  I  will 
"take  this  little  property.  I  don't  knowthat  I  can  make  any 
"money  out  of  it,  but  I  will  do  my  best.  After  you  have 
"forever  lost  your  home  you  will  have  time  to  regret  your 
"refusal  to  discuss  a  proposition  which  means  happiness  and 
"comfort  to  all  concerned." 

"  'Happiness  and  comfort  to  all  concerned !'  "  wonderingly 
repeated  the  bewildered  Laird. 

"Yes,  happiness  and  comfort.  If  your  fair  daughter  be- 
"comes  my  wife  she  will  have  got  a  good  husband,  although 
"I  say  it  myself.  And  this  old  homestead  will  remain  in  the 
"family.    We  will  all  live  here." 

"*We  will  all  live  here,*"  repeated  the  startled  Laird. 
"You?" 

"Why,  yes;  me.  Why  not?  Would  I  not  be  your  son- 
"in-law?" 

"My  'son-in-law  ?* "  repeated  the  bewildered  Laird. 

"You  look  and  talk  as  if  I  were  some  monster  or  ape  who 
"were  proposing  for  the  hand  of  your  fair  daughter!" 

"'Monster  or  ape,  who  was  proposing  for  the  hand  of 
"  'your  fair  daughter,' "  repeated  the  astonished  Laird. 


38 


The   Villain  in  the  "Ascendant. 


"Now  sit  down  like  a  sensible  man  and  a  prudent,  sen- 
"nble  father  and  let  us  discuss  the  matter." 

As  the  father  neither  sat  down  nor  asked  him  to  be  seabed, 
the  old  man  continued  standing  whilst  he  thus  proceeded: 
"Why  should  the  idea  startle  you  so  much?  Is  not  the 
"match  in  every  way  a  suitable  one?  Am  I  not  a  suitable 
"husband  for  any  girl  ?  Girls  like  wealthy  husbands.  I  am 
"wealthy.  And  then,  Laird,  does  it  not  occur  to  you  that 
"you  would  in  this  way  not  only  be  keeping  this  old  Home- 
"stead  in  the  family,  but  you  would  be  bringing  back  into 
"the  family  all  the  many  acres  which  at  one  time  you  owned, 
"but  which  now  I  own  ?" 

Not  receiving  any  reply,  the  inexorable  creditor  proceed- 
ed: "As  you  still  look  so  startled,  I'll  tell  you  what  I'll  do: 
"I'll  leave  the  matter  until  this  day  week.  In  one  week  from 
"to-day  I  will  come  back  for  your  answer.  In  the  meantime 
"you  can  see  your  fair  daughter  and  have  the  whole  matter 
"arranged.  That  will  give  you  ample  time  to  make  up  your 
"mind."  And  he  started  again  for  the  door.  But  on  his 
way  he  was  in  his  turn  startled  to  hear  from  the  lips  of  his 
debtor  these  words : 

"You  need  not  wait  for  your  answer ;  you  need  not  come 
"back  for  an  answer.  Do  you  think  I  would  sell  my  daugh- 
"ter?  My  answer  is  *No!  a  thousand  times  No!'  I  would 
"not  even  distress  my  daughter  by  mentioning  such  a  matter 
"to  her.  Go  your  way,  you  harsh,  cruel,  relentless  perse- 
"cutor!  You  can  do  your  worst  1  You  can  take  this  fine 
"old  Homestead.  We  will  seek  another  Home.  Better  a 
"thousand  times  the  most  abject  poverty  than  to  listen  to 
"your  vile  proposal !" 

The  Laird  stood  erect  and  delivered  this  reply  with  such 
a  firm,  deternyned  voice  and  with  such  flashing  eyes  that 
the  old  man  got  again  to  the  door  and  prepared  to  take  a 
hasty  departure,  saying  as  he  opened  the  door :  "Very  well. 
"I'll  give  you  a  week  to  think  it  over  calmly  and  coolly.  I 
"will  be  back  in  one  week  from  to-day." 

As  he  opened  the  door  and  walked  out  he  nearly  fell  over 
"Old  John,"  who  was  coming  along  the  passage  on  some 
errand  to  the  Laird.    The  old  usurer  was  never  good-tem- 


The   Villain  in   the  Ascendant. 


39 


pered ;  his  temper,  like  that  of  Mr.  Justice  Stareleigh,  always 
"bordered  on  the  irritable  and  brooked  not  contradiction."* 
And  just  now  he  felt  even  more  irritable  than  usual,  so  he 
returned  the  "I  beg  your  pardon,  sir.  I  did  not  know  you 
were  there"  of  "Old  John"  with  a  scowl  and  the  harsh 
words :  "You  old  villain,  when  I  am  master  here  I  will  not 
"have  such  lazy,  good-for-nothing,  clumsy  wretches  as  you 
"lying  around  doing  nothing." 

To  this  reply  "Old  John"  suavely  answered:  "Mr.  Covet 
"Grab,  it  never  pays  any  one  to  lose  his  temper.  I  apologized 
"for  running  against  you  or  allowing  you  to  run  against  me, 
"whichever  it  was.  As  to  your  being  master  here,  I  hoi>e 
"that  will  never  be.  If  you  ever  were  master,  you  may  be 
"sure  I  would  not  wish  to  be  your  servant.  And  as  to  my 
"being  a  villain,  as  you  just  called  me,  if  I  heard  rightly,  a 
"villain"  is  a  man  who  wrongs  somebody.  I  have  not 
wronged  any  one." 

Not  deigning  to  answer  "Old  John,"  and,  in  fact,  pretend- 
ing not  to  have  heard  him,  the  old  usurer  went  his  way 
down  the  long  passage  and  out  of  the  front  door. 

"Old  John"  knocked  softly  at  his  master's  door  two  or 
three  times,  and  not  receiving  any  reply,  he  made  bold  to 
open  the  door  and  looked  in  the  room  to  see  whether  the 
Laird  was  there. 

To  his  surprise  he  saw  his  master  sitting  at  the  table  with 
bis  head  buried  in  his  hands.  He  coughed  once  or  twice  to 
attract  his  attention,  and  not  receiving  any  notice  from  his 
master  he  said  aloud :     "Laird,  I  came  to  ask  you — " 

His  master  then  raised  his  head  from  the  table,  and,  to 
his  great  sorrow,  the  faithful  old  servant  saw  tears  in  the 
Laird's  eyes. 

"O  master,  what  is  the  matter?"  said  old  John,  going 
quickly  up  to  his  master  and  affectionately  placing  one  of  his 
rough,  toil-hardened  hands  on  the  hand  of  his  master.  ^ 

Then  he  continued  speaking  partly  to  the  Laird  and  partly 
to  himself :  "That  old  miser  who  called  me  a  'villain'  has 
"had  something  to  do  with  this  trouble,  I  fancy." 

"Are  you  referring  to  Mr.  Covet  Grab?"  asked  the  Laird. 

•"The  Posthumous  Papers  of  th*  Pickwick  Club"— Charles  Dickens. 


m 


lifippsip'lfiSiiN!**^' '•'  ■^?' ■" 


-  •;;)  ■  •■■ .  ■*^*-i3*/  V 


•■^r. 


40 


The    Villain  in   the  Ascendant 


"Yes,  master,"  said  old  John. 

"Well,"  said  the  Laird,  "if  you  will  sit  here  I  will  tell  you 
"the  cause  of  my  -sorrow.  In  fact,  I  had  made  up  my  mind 
"that  it  was  my  duty  to  lay  the  whole  matter  before  you, 
"John ;  and  if  you  had  not  come  in  just  now  I  was  going  to 
"find  you  and  tell  you  my  sorrow.  And  then  I  was  going 
"to  ask  you  to  talk  the  whole  matter  over  with  me  and  try 
"and  help  me  to  come  to  a  conclusion.  Or  rather,  John,  per- 
"haps  I  should  say  that  I  was  going  to  tell  you  of  the  con- 
"clusion  to  which  I  had  already  come  and  to  ask  your  opin- 
"ion  as  to  it.  I  will,  of  course,  also  want  your  valuable 
"assistance  in  helping  me  to  carry  out  rtiy  plans.  In  fact, 
"John,"  and  here  the  Laird,  who  had  already  risen  from 
his  seat,  placed  his  hand  on  the  old  man's  shoulder,  "I  could 
■'not  commence  even — as  one  might  say — to  carry  out  my 
"plans  without  your  help.  But  yet,  my  good  friend,  I  do  not 
"know  whether  I  should  ask  you  to  help  us,  seeing  we  are 
"in  such  trouble.  Probably  it  is  my  first  duty  again  to  urge 
"you — as  I  used  to  urge  you  in  days  long  gone  by,  and  when 
"our  troubles  first  commenced  to  loom  up  in  the  distance,  as 
"it  were,  to  leave  the  sinking  ship  and  to  take  service  under 
"brighter  skies,  where — " 

"Oh,  master,  stop!  stop!  Please  do  not  say  anything 
"more  like  that !  You  know  it  is  impossible.  How  could  I 
"leave  you  and  'the  Bonnie  Leddies  ?'  " 

The  faithful  old  servant  looked  so  distressed  that  the 
master  could  not  say  anything  more  with  reference  to  a 
subject  the  mere  mention  of  which  clearly  seemed  to  give  so 
much  pain. 

Then  old  John  smiled  and  said:  "Of  course,  master,  if 
"you  and  'the  bonnie  leddies*  wish  me  to  leave  your  service 
"I  will  do  so." 

And  when,  in  reply,  the  Laird  smiled,  old  John  broke  into 
a  jolly,  hearty  laugh,  and  brought  down  his  clenched  hand 
on  the  table  with  a  bang,  saying :  "A  fig  for  the  old  miser  I 
"What  do  we  care  for  him?  Let  him  go  his  way!  He 
called  me  a  'villain,'  but  I  told  him  'a  villain  is  a  man  who 
wrongs  somebody.     I  have  not  wronged  any  one!" 

"Rightly  spoken,  my  trusty  friend,"  said  the  Laird.   "It 


'■t  •:>'■'- 


The    Villain  in   the  Ascendant. 


41 


"was  about  that  same  old  usurer — I  was  about  to  say 
"  'villain,'  but  I  will  not — I  will  not  judge  him  harshly — 
"that  I  was  about  to  speak  to  you.  And  then  when  we've  had 
"our  little  chat  and  had  come  to  a  conclusiion  ourselves  I  was 
"going  to  call  in  'the  girls'  and  talk  the  whole  matter  over 
"with  them." 

"Ah!  you  were!  were  you?"  came  from  the  lips  of  the 
two  "bonnie  leddies,"  and,  turning  quickly,  the  two  men  saw 
the  two  pretty  girls  standing  arm  in  arm  near  the  library 
door. 

"Why,  when  did  you  come  in,  my  dears?"  exclaimed  the 
Laird. 

"Oh,  only  two  or  three^minutes  ago,"  said  Elfie.  "I  told 
"you  I  would  hurry  back  and  bring  Retta  with  me.  We 
"came  to  the  library  door  and  heard  you  and  'Old  John' 
"talking  very  earnestly.  In  fact,  father,  when  our  dear  old 
"friend,"  and  here  she  looked  so  kindly  at  the  old  man  that 
he  went  over  to  her  and  took  her  little  hand  tenderly  in  his 
great  rough  hand,  "came  into  the  room  he  must  have  left 
"the  door  half  open,  and  although  we  do  not  want  to  be 
"  'cowans'  or  'eavesdroppers'  we  could  not  help  hearing  a 
"good  deal  which  perhaps  you  did  not  intend  we  should  hear 
"until  later  on. 

"But,  father,"  she  continued — and  here  both  girls  went 
over  to  the  Laird  and  put  their  arms  around  him — "why 
"should  we  not  be  made  fully  acquainted  with  any  trouble 
"which  may  have  come  to  you?  In  fact,  you  know,  don't 
"you  now?  that  you  have  no  right  or  business  to  have  any 
"trouble  unless  we  share  it.  What  are  we  here  for,  I  would 
"like  to  know,  sir,  if  we  are  not  to  share  in  your  troubles  as 
"well  as  your  joys  ?  You  are  a  nice  man,  you  are,  don't  you 
"think  so?  to  have  a  little  trouble  on  your  mind  and  not  wish 
"to  share  it  with  your  comrades.  Just  wait  until  you. ask  us 
"to  go  trout  fishing  with  you  again!"  And  here  both  girls 
laughed  merrily  and  their  silvery  laughter  seemed  so  con- 
tagious that  both  of  the  men  joined  in  it.  Old  John  stood 
where  the  girls  had  left  him  looking  admiringly  at  them  and 
murmuring  to  himself,  "the  bonnie  leddies." 

"Well,"  said  the  Laird,  "perhaps  I  should  say  that  the 


42 


The   Villain  in   the  Ascendant. 


"present  trouble  is  not  'a  little  trouble*  as  you  called  it — it 
"is  really  a  big  one." 

"One  would  think  so,"  said  Retta,  "from  the  eloquent 
"way  in  which  'Old  John'  brought  down  his  fist  on  the  table 
"a  few  minutes  ago !" 

"Perhaps  he  thought  he  was  bringing  i  ;wn  on  some 
"  'villain' !  said  her  companion.  And  then  boui  girls  laughed 
heartily  again,  and  again  the  men  joined  in  the  laughter. 

"Well,  my  dears,"  continued  the  Laird,  "I  was  about  to 
"explain  to  Old  John  when  you  came  in" — 
"the  nature  of  the  great  trouble  which  has  been  overshadow- 
"ing  Summertrees  like  a  black  thunder  cloud,  for  a  long  time 
"and  which  has  at  last  burst  on  us — and  threatens  our  ruin." 

"O  you  know  it  is  not  as  bad  as  that,"  said  Elfie.  "You 
"know  thunder  storms  generally  soon  blow  over — and  I  am 
"willing  to  assure  you — and  I  know  Retta  will  join  cheer- 
"  fully  in  the  assurance — that  very  soon  this  thunder  cloud 
"will  have  harmlessly  blown  over  the  House  of  Summer- 
"trees — and  that  none  of  us  will  be  at  all  wet ;  not  a  drop  of 
"rain  shall  fall,  father.  What  do  you  say.  Old  John  ?" 

"I  say  again,"  said  the  old  man,  "a  fig  for  the  old  miser  I 
What  do  we  care  for  him?" 

Then  Retta  added  solemnly,  and  kind  of  sotto  voce  like, 
"I  don't  know  that  I  would  give  him  a  fig:  I  don't  know  that 
"he  particularly  deserves  such  a  luxury.  Besides  he  might 
"object  on  the  ground  of  the  expense  involved."  and  then, 
of  course,  everyone  laughed. 

"I  must  say,"  pursued  the  Laird,  "that  from  the  moment 
"Old  John  came  into  the  room  until  now  the  sky  has  been 
"brightening  until  now  the  cloud  seems  either  to  have  gone 
"away  altogether  or  to  have  become  very  small." 

"At  any  rate,  father,"  said  Elfie  softly,  "it  seems  now  to 
"have  'a  silver  lining,' — as  some  one  once  beautifully  wrote 
"—does  it  not?" 

"Well,  dears,  before  John  came  in,  our  pathway  looked 
"very  dark  indeed  and  I  had  almost  given  up  hope.  The 
"stormcloud  looked  very  black  indeed.  The  'trail'  seemed  en- 
"tirely  blocked — so  to  speak.  But  John  in  his  own  hearty 
"way  soon  commenced  to  make  me  have  hope  again.    And 


%'-, 


-^r^!-'(r-v*-' 


. /TS^4W5:J34 


The   Villain  in  the  Ascendant. 


43 


"then  when  his  'bonnie  leddies'  came  in  they  filled  the  room 
"with  so  much  silvery  light  and  sweetness  that  the  stonn 
"cloud  commenced  to  melt  away— or  rather  as  you,  Elfie,  so 
"beautifully  said — it  commenced  to  take  on  a  'silver  lining*." 

"What  a  gallant  old  cavalier  the  Laird  of  Summertrees  is 
"getting  to  be !"  said  Retta. 

"Rather  should  you  say,"  remarked  her  companion,  "what 
"a  gallant  'Squire  of  Damea*  the  Laird  of  Summertrees  al- 
"ways  was." 

Then  Old  John  said:  "You  will  pardon  me,  my  bonnie 
"leddies,  but  had  you  not  better  let  the  master  tell  us  the 
"cause  of  his  trouble?" 

"Why  yes,  of  course,"  said  Elfie.  "Thank  you,  John,  that 
"is,  of  course,  what  we  wish  to  hear." 

And  the  mischievous  Retta  added,  in  a  'loud  aside' — sotto 
"voce  as  it  were — Old  John  is  always  so  very  practical,  you 
"know." 

"Well,"  continued  the  Laird — "one  cannot  help  smiling — 
"you  girls  are  so  gay — ^but  the  subject  is  a  very  serious  one 
" — or  rather  it  seemed  so  serious  this  morning  that  at  the 
"time  Old  John  came  in  it  weighed  pretty  heavily  on  me: 
"We  have  to  leave  Summertrees — and  at  once." 

"Leave  Summertrees^ — ^and  at  once!"  repeated  the  bewil- 
dered trio. 

"I  knew  it  would  surprise  you  all" — continued  the  Laird 
"—and  if  it  had  been  possible  I  would  have  kept  this  great 
"trouble  to  myself.  But  you  see  it  could  rot  be." 

"My  dear  darling  father !"  said  Elfie,  as  she  put  her  arms 
round  his  neck  and  kissed  him. 

"My  dear  darling  uncle,"  said  Retta,  as  she  also  kissed 
him. 

"A  fig  for  the  old  miser!  What  do  we  care  for  him?" 
again  said  Old  John,  and  by  way  of  making  a  little  diversion, 
he  again  brought  down  his  fist  on  the  table. 

"But,"  pursued  the  Laird,  "we  have  to  go— Mr.  Covet 
"Grab  says — " 

"A  fig  for  the  old  miser!  What  do  we  care  for  him?" 
again  ejaculated  Old  John  and  again  his  fist  came  down  on 
the  table. 


44 


The   V illain  in    the  Ascendant. 


Just  at  this  moment  the  attention  of  all  was  called  to  the 
sound  of  heavy  footsteps  coming  along  the  passage :  the  foot- 
steps sounded  like  the  footsteps  of  those  who  carry  a  heavy 
burden — ^and  before  the  astonished  quartette  in  the  library 
had  time  to  resume  their  conversation  they  heard  a  jolly 
voice  sing  to  a  rollicking  air : 

"I've  ribbons  and  laces, 

"To  set  oflf  the  faces, 

"Of  pretty  young  sweethearts  and  wives."* 

— and — first  thing  they  knew — two  sun-burned  pedlars  had 
walked  through  the  open  door  into  the  Library,  and,  in  fact, 
right  up  to  the  place  where  the  quartette  were  standing, 
bearing  between  them  a  heavypedlar's  pack,  and  solemnly 
putting  down  the  pack  on  the  floor  they  commenced  to  sing, 
one  in  a  beautiful  soprano-pianissimo  sort  of  voice,  as  it 
were,  and  the  other  in  a  deep  alto-baritone-basso-profundo- 
contralto  sort  of  voice — so  to  speak. 

"I've  ribbons  and  laces, 
"To  set  oflf  the  faces, 
.   "Of  pretty  young  sweethearts  and  wives."* 


«H.  M.  S.  Pinafore— Gilbert  &  Sullivan. 


Act  II. 


THE  GALLANTRY  OF  A  KING. 
Scene:    The  Land  of  the  Grimalkins. 

Tempore:    King   William    the    Fourth,    of    England,    and    King 
Grimalkin  the  First,  of  the  Land  of  the  Grimalkins. 


'HE  Land  was  in  a  prosperous  condition.  The 
crops  had  never  been  better — every  year  the  tea 
and  tobacco  grown  in  the  new  District  of  Pus- 
sandra  seemed  to  give  better  satisfaction,  both  to 
grower,  seller  and  consumer :  even  the  flavour  of 
each  seemed  to  be  improving — so  the  ladies  said 
with  respect  to  the  tea  and  so  the  gentlemen  said  with  respect 
to  the  tobacco.  The  sheep  ranchers  in  the  Blue  Mountains — 
known  also  as  the  Backbone  Mountains — were  doing  well 
and  were  rapidly  getting  well-off. 

The  yeomen  who  were  engaged  in  general  farming  on  the 
low  lands  were  happy  and  prosperous. 

The  newly  discovered  iron  mines  and  copper  mines  in  the 
mountains  back  of  Catburg  were  turning  out  well. 

The  several  manufacturing  industries  throug'hout  the 
Land  were  prospering — so  the  newspapers  said.  Already 
Catburg  gave  promise  of  speedily  becoming  a  great  manu- 
facturing center.  Pussyburg  also  hafl  aspirations  in  the 
same  way.  Each  of  those  towns  boasted  one  or  more  woolen 
mills  which  already  were  doing  a  thriving  business,  and  as 
the  number  of  sheep  kept  in  the  Blue  Mountains  was  steadily 
increasing,  it  seemed  very  probable  that  within  a  short  time 
the  woolen  industry  would  have  reached  great  proportions. 
Even  Mieauburg  now  had  one  large  woolen  mill  and  an- 
other was  in  course  of  construction. 

The  merchants  throughout  the  country  were  prosperous — 
so  the  Bankers  said,  and  they  ought  to  know. 

The  three  towns  of  Mieauburg,  Catburg  and  Pussyburg 
were  growing  apace  and  their  citizens  when  writing  to  one 
another  used  sometimes  to  write  the  word  "City"  on  their 
envelopes. 


46 


The   G allantry   of   a  King. 


Notice  had  already  been  given  in  the  Official  Gazette — 
"The  Royal  Grimalkin  Gazette" — that  at  the  very  next 
sitting  of  Parliament  application  would  be  made  on  behalf  of 
the  Ratepayers  of  the  Town  of  Catburg  for  an  Act  of  Par- 
liament conferring  upon  the  Town  the  rights  and  privileges 
of  a  City — including  the  right  to  His  Worship  the  Mayor  of 
wearing  on  Strtf^  c  .  -.stops  a  robe  of  office  and  a  gold  chain. 
And  it  was  likely  that  within  the  next  two  or  three  years- 
Mieauburg  and  Pussyburg  would  "follow  suit." 

Little  villages  and  "settlements"  were  springing  up  all 
over  the  country.  Firs*  A  all  as  the  country  got  settled  up 
you  would  see  a  pt>  /.oriicv  started,  and  next  thing  you  knew 
the  Postmaster  or  Posii  ul;  :...>s,  as  the  case  might  be,  wouM 
open  a  little  store — and  then  sc.'»^<e  one  would  start  a  black- 
smith shop  ri^iit  op. /(."Site  the  '"-ffice.  Next  thing  you 
knew  one  of  the  MacFlani  c/y  ^d**^  '^vild  open  uo  a  modest 
little  dressmaking  and  millinery  csta-Wishment  next  door  to 
the  postoffice,  and  you  would  see  the  pretty  little  sig^  hang- 
ing over  the  door,  "Mile.  MacFlannery,  Modiste  et  cetera." 

And  inside  the  window  would  appear  a  neat  little  card 
bearing  this  legend:  "Apprentices  wanted  to  learn  the 
Profession ;    no  Flirting  allowed  on  the  premises." 

But  if  you  were  to  stroll  down  "the  street" — casually,  as 
it  were — you  would  sometimes — nay,  fjerhaps  frequently — 
see  the  new  "Apprentice,"  Mile.  MacFlannigan,  standing  or 
sitting  near  the  window  of  the  little  shop  and  smiling  very 
sweetly  at  some  one  across  the  street — and,  looking  that  way, 
you  would  see  young  MacPhairsonn,  the  blacksmith's  ap- 
prentice, standing  at  the  smithy  door  begirt  with  a  leathern 
apron  and  with  his  shirt  sleeves  rolled  up  and  with  several 
black  marks  on  his  manly  face — ^a-smiling  across  the  street 
at  somebody  or  other,  and  it  is  a  strange  coincidence  that  his 
eyes  should  always  seem  to  be  looking  right  over  at  the 
Fashionable  Emporium  of  La  Modiste. 

Trade  on  the  classic  Cattawaul  was  "rapidly  looking  up" 
— so  the  newspapers  said  and  so  the  tug  men  said  and  the 
men  who  owned  the  "stone  hookers." 

Nearly  wherever  you  went    along    the  River — at    any 


The   G allantry  of   a  King. 


47 


rate  between  Mieauburg  on  the  north  and  Pussyburg  on  the 
south — you  would  be  likely  to  hear  either  the  shrill  tooting 
of  a  tug  or  its  "puff"-"puff"-"puff"-"pug"-"pug"-"pug": 
they  were  all  what  were  called  "high  pressure"  affairs  in 
those  days,  and  they  always  went  along  the  River — up  and 
down — ^a-grunting  and  a-puffing  and  a-pugging — just  for  ail 
the  world  like  a  big  over-grown  Pug  dog. 

You  know  the  genus  or  species  of  "Bow  wow"  denomi- 
nated "Pug"  seems  to  have  two  leading  characteristics  or 
idiosyncracies :  first — ^they  generally  seem  to  wear  their 
tongues  outside  of  their  mouths  and  to  one  side,  and  second 
— they  seem  to  grunt  all  the  time  and  seem  to  be  able  to  do 
nothing  without  grunting. 

The  "stone  hookers"  seemed  to  be  doing  a  lively  trade: 
they  did  not  entirely  confine  themselves  to  the  hauling  of 
stone.  They  would  haul  lime,  sand,  lumber,  lath,  railway 
ties,  even  potatoes  and  turnips — or  even — on  a  pinch — as 
one  might  say — household  furniture.  Sometimes  they 
would  sail  up  or  down  the  River — if  they  had  a  "fair  wind" 
or  even  a  strong  "beam  wind" — ^but  generally  the  wind 
seemed  a  "head  wind"  and  the  poor  "stone  hooker"  had  to 
follow  himibly  in  the  wake  of  one  of  the  a-grunting  and 
a-pugging  tugs  to  which  I  have  referred. 

The  "stone  hooker"  looked  far  more  poetical  when  it  was 
a-sailing  "on  its  own  hook" — so  to  speak.  Generally  it 
it  affected  red  sails — ^and  the  outspread  sails — especially 
if  they  were  set  "wing  and  wing" — ^made  as  pretty  a  picture 
as  you  would  wish  to  see.  Of  course  the  picture  took  in  and 
included  other  things  besides  the  outstretched  sails  of  the 
**stone  hooker":  the  blue  sky  overhead — perhaps  here  and 
there  a  fleecy  cloud :  the  blue  waters  of  the  classic  Cattawaul : 
the  g^een  banks  of  the  River:  the  dim  blue  outline  of  the 
Backbone  Mountains  to  the  east. 

The  brisk  trade  on  the  River  had  the  effect  of  causing 
several  busy  little  "settlements"  or  villages  to  grow  up  along 
the  shore  and  on  either  side  of  the  River. 

The  evolution  was  very  simple:  first  some  enterprising 
farmCT  living  in  the  vicinity  would  build  a  little  dock  or 
wharf  and  would  load  it  up  with  "cord  wood"  brought  from 


48 


The    Gallantry   of    a  King. 


his  farm  and  cut  (I  mean  the  wood  and  not  the  farm)  into 
four-foot  lengths.  Then  he  would  put  up  a  big  sign  board 
on  the  dock  or  wharf  bearing  this  interesting  legend :  "Ici 
"on  parle  Sanscrit — and  sells  cord-wood  to  Tugs :  no  smok- 
"ing  allowed  on  the  premises." 

First  thing  you  know,  comes  a  little  tug  a-snorting  and 
a-pugging  on  its  way  up  the  River,  and  the  gallant  Captaine 
sees  the  new  dock  or  wharf  and  the  new  sigpti-board,  and  he 
say^  to  his  first-mate — says  he :  "Bill,  'ere's  a  new  outfit  of 
"stove  wood — shall  we  try  it?" 

"Wa'al,  Skipper — I'll  ask  the  First  Engineer." 

Then  that  functionary  is  consulted,  and,  in  his  turn,  he 
consults  the  First  Fireman — and  it  being  ascertained  that  the 
tug  needs  a  little  more  wood  if  it  is  to  keep  up  its  snorting 
and  pugging  to  perfection  all  the  way  to  the  next  Landing. 
So  the  gallant  Skipper  is  advised  of  the  circumstance  and 
he  takes  his  speaking  trumpet  in  his  hand  and  hails  the 
gallant  Captaine  of  the  Stone  Hooker  "Eliza  Jane"  thusly : 

"Eliza  Jane!  Ahoy!   Ahoy!" 

Then  the  Skipper  of  the  "Eliza  Jane"  takes  his  trumpet 
in  his  hand  and  answers  back:  "Yes!  Fire  Fly!  Ahoy! 
"Ahoy!^' 

Then  says — through  his  trumpet — the  Skipper  of  the  Tug 
to  the  Skipper  of  the  Stone  Hooker :  "Cap'n — I'm  a  goin' 
"to  lay  in  some  cord  wood  at  this  new  dock  on  the  starboard 
"side  if  you  are  'greeable." 

"Sartainly,  Cap'n,"  calls  back  the  Skipper  of  the  "Eliza 
Jane."  Then  he  tells  his  first-mate  to  put  the  helm  to  port 
and  he  goes  for'a'd  to  watch  proceedings. 

Well,  the  wood  being  good  and  the  price  reasonable,  a 
thriving  trade  is  done — and  the  dock  or  wharf  has  to  be 
enlarged,  and  tugs  and  "hookers"  commence  to  make  a 
"lounging  place"  of  the  dock  or  wharf — ^as  it  'were — and, 
first  thing  you  know,  appears  another  sign  board  bearing 
this  interesting  legend :  "Any  Tug  or  Hooker  found  loafing 
"on  dese  yere  premises  will  be  charged  Five  hundred  Yen 
"an  hour  after  the  first  hour.  By  order  (Signed)  John 
"Tomlinson,  Sen'r,  Wharfinger." 

Soon  some  one  starts  a  store — then  the  Government  is 


The   Gallantry   of   a  King. 


49 


petitioned  to  make  the  storekeeper  both  a  Postmaster  and  a 
"J.  p"  and  both  requests  are  granted.  Then  you  may  see 
as  you  pass  up  and  down  the  River,  the  new  sign-board  with 
the  mysterious  legend:  "J^bn  O'Lennan,  Ici  est  le  Poste 
"Restante  et  Gustus  de  la  Piece." 

Then  comes  a  fair  modiste  and  a  brawny  blacksmith,  and 
in  course  of  time  also  comes  a  tinsmith  and  a  carpenter  and 
waggon  maker.  And  so,  gradtially,  "Tomlinson's  Landing" 
becomes  a  thriving  "Settlement"  and  eventually  an  incor- 
porated Village  with  a  Reeve  and  a  Village  Council,  and  a 
Village  Policeman  in  a  blue  coat  and  gold  or  gold-appearing 
buttons,  and  a  Village  Clerk  and  Village  Treasurer,  and 
Village  Tax  Collector,  and  all  the  other  officials  and  para- 
phernalia which  a  duly  incorporated  village  by  rights  ought 
to  have.  Of  course  Mr.  John  Tomlinson,  Sen'r,  is  the  first 
Reeve. 

It  was  in  or  by  a  somewhat  similar  course  of  evolution 
that  the  now  busy  Village  of  Purrville  Landing  took  its  rise. 

Some  wise-acres  said  that  when  the  new  railway — "Le 
Grand  Sud-Chemin  de  fer" — was  completed  and  running  as 
far  as  Pussyburg  the  busy  times  on  the  classic  Cattawaul 
would  cease,  and  that  the  produce,  and  supplies,  and  freight 
of  all  kinds  which  now  was  carried  up  and  down  the  River 
on  "flat  boats"  and  "scows"  and  "stone  hookers"  would  go 
through  by  rail;  in  other  words,  that  the  snorting  "iron 
horse"  and  noisy  "freight  car"  would  supplant  the  equally 
snorting  tug  and  the  graceful  "flat  boat,"  "scow"  and 
"hooker." 

But   this   was  only   the  pessimistic  utterance   of   some 


"wise-acres." 


IS 


"Le  Grand  Sud"  was  in  active  course  of  construction ;  it 
was  being  built  in  sections  all  the  way  from  Mieauburg  to 
Pussyburg.  Hundreds  of  men  were  busily  engaged  in  its 
construction,  and,  thus  far  at  all  events,  its  construction  had 
been  a  benefit  instead  of  a  damage  to  the  owners  of  tugs  and 
flat  boats  and  scows  and  "hookers";  they  were  kept  busy 
hauling  railway  ties  and  bridge  timber  and  building  stone 
required  at  different  points  in  the  construction  of  the  Rail- 
way.   At  Catburg  and  Pussyburg  the  line  was  to  touch  the 


so 


The   G allantry   of  a   King. 


River  bank  and  at  no  nlace  was  it  to  run  a  great  way  back 
from  the  shore. 

Another  Railway  Company  had  lately  been  chartered — 
"Le  Grand  Occident — Aliemni  de  Fer."  It  was  to  start  at 
Catburg  and  run  west  into  the  already- famous  District  of 
Pussandra.  But  as  yet  this  last  line  only  existed  "on  paper," 
although  survey  parties  were  out  running  "trial  lines"  and 
trying  to  decide  on  the  easiest  and  most  practicable  route. 

The  citizens  of  Catburg  commenced  to  walk  very  straight 
and  to  feel  their  importance  as  citizens  of  a  city  which  one  of 
these  days  was  going  to  be  a  great  Railway  Junction — a 
great  railroad  Center. 

Mieauburg  would,  of  course,  also  be  a  Terimnus  but  not 
a  Junction.  It  was  not  every  place  which  could  be  a  Junc- 
tion, you  see. 

Such  was  the  state  of  affairs  in  the  Land  at  the  time  of  the 
occurrence  of  the  pathetic  incidents  recorded  in  this 
narrative. 

Parliament  was  in  session  at  the  Capital — Mieauburg. 
The  Legislators  were  meeting  for  the  first  time  in  the  new 
Parliament  Buildings  which  had  recently  been  erected  on 
'"the  Big  Square."  The  citizens  were  proud  of  "the  stately 
pine"  and  they  thronged  the  galleries,  the  lobbies  and  the 
corridors.  -The  Speaker's  Gallery  was  reserved  exclusively 
for  the  "fair  sex,"  and  all  through  the  busy  Session  that 
particular  spot  was  "a  veritable  garden  of  beautiful  flowers." 

It  was  the  Honorable  Brer  Featherstone  Johnsing,  the 
Leader  of  His  Majesty's  "Loyal  Opposition"  in  the  House  of 
Commons,  who  thus  poetically  described  the  Speaker's  Gal- 
lery. He,  of  course,  was  the  Leader  of  the  "Outs" — "the 
Bleus" — and  his  political  opponents  used  to  say  that  the 
Hon.  gentleman  would  say  anything  or  do  anything  which 
was  likely  to  influence  a  vote.  Of  course  this  remark  must 
be  understood  as  having  been  made  "strictly  in  a  Pick- 
wickian sense." 

Political  feeling  ran  high  in  The  Land  of  the  Grimalkins. 
In  the  very  early  Pioneer  Days  people  did  not  have  time  to 
-bother  with  politics.  When  a  man's  thoughts  have  to  run 
largely,  if  not  entirely,  on  the  felling  of  trees,  the  cutting  and 


The   Gallantry  ot  a  King, 


51 


"skidding"  of  logs,  the  hauling  of  'em  to  market,  the  "log- 
ging up"  and  "burning,"  the  rushing  in  of  a  late  crop  of 
potatoes  or  of  turnips,  or  maybe  of  millet,  the  hasty  building 
of  a  hewed  log  house  for  himself  and  bis  family,  and  a  bam 
and  stable  and  chicken  house,  he  has  not  much  time  to  con- 
sider whether  or  not  he  particularly  cares  which  of  the  two 
great  Political  Parties  are  in  power  at  Mieauburg — ^"the 
Bleus"  or  "the  Mauves."  If  you  meet  him  wearing  a 
thoughtful  expression  and  "gazing  pensively  into  space,"  you 
need  not  jump  to  the  conclusion  that  he  is  considering  any 
of  "the  burning  political  questions  of  the  day" — it  would  be 
safer  to  assume  that  he  is  wondering  whether  or  not  the 
season  will  be  dry  enough  to  permit  him  early  in  the  season 
to  get  "a  good  burn"  on  that  four-acre  piece  west  of  the 
pasture  field  which  he  chopped  last  winter.  It  will  be  a 
matter  to  be  regretted  if  he  cannot  get  his  "bum"  early 
enough  in  the  summer  to  enable  him  to  get  in  a  late  crop  of 
potatoes — ^at  all  events  a  crop  of  turnips  or  of  millet. 

And  his  faithful  wife — the  true  "help  meet"  of  the  hardy 
"pioneer" — she  is  too  busy  with  her  multifarious  household 
concerns  to  consider  which  of  the  two  colours — ^bleu  or 
mauve — she  prefers.  If  she  has  any  extra  time  for  thought 
it  must  perforce  go  to  the  pretty  young  calves  and  the  gentle 
lambs  and  the  baby  chickens,  gozlings  and  turklings  or 
gobblings — ^whichever  is  the  right  expression.  If  you  were 
to  ask  this  simple-minded  "Queen  of  the  Household"  which 
colour  she  would  prefer  in  a  ribbon  or  a  dress  or  a  "spring 
bonnet"— if  she  could  afford  one — she  probably  would  tell 
you  that  she — ^as  far  as  she  herself  was  concemed — ^preferred 
bleu  to  mauve,  or  mauve  to  bleu^ — as  the  case  might  be. 

But  of  late  years — ^and  as  the  country  became  better 
settled — and  as  the  farmers  became  prosperous  and  in  many 
cases  "well-off" — things  became  changed  in  this  respect. 
When  a  farmer  gets  so  that  he  need  not  worry  about  his 
"bum"— when  the  dear  old  log  house  is  no  longer  the 
"homestead"  and  dwelling  house  but  is  used  as  a  store  house 
or  stable — or  perhaps  as  the  woodshed  and  summer  kitchen 
— ^when  in  its  place  there  stands  a  larger  and  more  pre- 


52 


The   Gallantry   of   a  King, 


si''  ■ 


tentious  structure  built  of  lumber  and  called  "frame" — or 
perchance  of  stone  or  brick : 

When  the  old-time  log  barn  has  given  place  to  an  impos- 
ing frame  structure,  with  a  huge  high  stone  foundation 
within  which  the  live  stock  find  comportable  quarters  during 
the  cold  winter : 

When  the  farmer's  buxom  wife  and  his  pretty  daughters 
are  able  to  take  a  lively  interest  in  the  subject  of  ribbons  and 
laces — when  these  fair  Queens  and  Princesses  of  the  House- 
hold receive  frequently  by  mail  the  interesting  and  pleasing 
"Catalogues"  issued  periodically  by  the  great  Emporiums 
of  Art  and  Fashion  situate  in  the  thriving  towns  of  Mieau- 
burg,  Catburg  and  Pussyburg : 

When  "La  Modiste"  may  be  found  not  only  in  the  larger 
towns  and  embryo  cities  but  also  in  the  villages  and  thriving 
"settlements" : 

When  the  "honest  yeoman"  on  state  occasions  or  when  he 
sits  on  a  Grand  Jury  can  afford  to  wear  a  "silk  hat" : 

When  some  of  the  country  boys  are  going  to  "Bizness 
Collidges"  in  the  larger  towns : 

When  "the  Schoolmaster  is  abroad  in  the  land" : 

When  the  melodious  melodeon  and  the  harmonious  har- 
monium have  given  way  in  many  a  farm  house  and  many  a 
shepherd's  ranch  to  the  pianissimo  piano  forte: 

Surely  the  time  has  come  when  "the  honest  yeomanry  of 
the  country — ^the  back-bone  of  The  Fair  Land  of  the  Grimal- 
kins"— as  the  Premier  once  said  on  "the  busting," — should 
commence  to  take  an  active  interest  in  "the  burning  political 
questions  of  the  day." 

And  they  did  burn — the  same  "political  questions." 

The  whole  country  seemed  divided  into  two  great  hostile 
political  "camps." 

Sensible  men  v.rho  had  lived  alongside  of  one  another  on 
the  same  "Section  Line,"  or  "Concession  Line,"  or  "Side 
Line,"  or  "Colonization  Line,"  as  the  case  might  be,  for 
years  and  years,  and  who  had  always  been  good  friends, 
suddenly  seemed  to  wake  up  to  the  realization  that  there 


i^ 


.-iJipF^-^ 


The   G allantry   of_  a  King . 


53 


le 

Ir 


was  something  wrong  somewhere  or  other  or  somehow  or 
other. 

Farmer  Bronson  would  say  of  Farmer  Jinnison — "he  is  a 
"good  farmer — and  understands  the  soil  and  the  crops — 
"and  he  is  a  first-class  neighbor — it  is  too  bad  he  is  'mauve.* " 

And  "old  ma'am  Jinnison"  would  say  of  "old  ma'am 
Bronson:  "I  really  am  sorry  *Sis  Bronson'  is  so  'bleu.' 
"'Tis  too  bad,  because  she  really  is  a  good  neighbor." 

And  every  four  years  the  whole  country  would  be  thrown 
into  a  "ferment."  "The  Elections"  would  be  "oH"--and 
people  seemed  to  be  "a  little  off" — ^as  the  saying  is.  It  was 
bad  enough  to  have  the  whole  country  thrown  into  a  turmoil 
every  four  years — but  the  politicians  were  not  content  with 
that:  they  brought  on  what  they  were  pleased  to  call  "Bye 
Elections"  on  every  occasion  possible.  And  for  weeks  be- 
fore the  day  of  the  Election — whether  it  was  a  "General" 
or  a  "Bye" — the  whole  Land  was  practically  turned  upside 
down.  You  heard  nothing  but  "Politics"  no  matter  where, 
you  went.  Even  the  newsboys  on  th*^  streets  in  the  large 
towns  discussed  politics  on  the  street  between  themselvs — 
and  little  Shaver  Johnnie  would  say  to  little  Shaver  Billie — 
speaking  of  little  Shaver  Tommy:  "I  really  am  afraid  he 
is  a  little  'mauve'  in  his  sentiments."  The  "stump  speaker" 
was  "abroad  in  the  land"  and  every  night  or  two  there  would 
be  a  "Political  Meeting"  in  "the  little  Red  School  House" 
on  the  Concession  Line.  If  you  drove  along  the  Coloniza- 
tion Roads  or'~even  along  any  of  the  Side  Lines,  you  could 
not  help  seeing  the  notices  posted  upon  the  fences  and  even 
sometimes  on  the  trees  along  the  Road.  And  when  you  got 
down  out  of  your  buggy  and  walkd  over  to  the  notice  and 
commenced  to  read  it  you  found  it  read : 

"Public  Notice. 

"Brer  Llewellyn  MacFairson,  who  has  re- 
"ceived  the  unanimous  support  of  the  recent 

"Mauve  Convention 

"held  at  Tomlinson'i;  Landing,  will 

"Adress 


^*" 


£'  '* 


54 


The  Gallantry   of  a  King. 


"the  honest  yeomanry  of  the  Electoral  Riding 
"of  Catalinha  at 

"  'The  Little  Red  School  House,' 

"corner  of  the  A  Line  and  the  Fourth  Side 
"Road,  on  Thursday  Evening,  the  20th  in- 
"stant,  at  eight  p.  m. 

"Reserved  Seats  for  the  Fair  Ones. 

"Come  one!    Come  all! 
"'We're  in  and  will  stay  in'!" 

By  order, 

BRER  WILKINS  HOBSON, 

Sec.    Mauve    Assoc'n    Electl. 
Dist.  of  Catalinha. 


<(  < 


■^"Please  come  and  hear  'the  burning  Po- 
litical questions  of  the  Day'  fully,  fairly  and 
"impartially  discussed." 

It  goes  without  saying  that  the  notice  would  be  printed  on 
mauve-colored  paper. 

Perhaps  on  the  very  next  tree  you  would  find  a  Bleu  proc- 
lamation almost  similarly  worded  and  printed,  of  course,  on 
bleu  paper. 

The  Bleu  proclamation  would,  of  course,  differ  with  the 
Mauve  proclamation  in  certain  important  respects :  "mutatis 
mutandis,"  as  learned  forces  would  say.  The  speaker  of  the 
evening  would  be  Brer  Silbertson  O'Finlayson;  and  he  had 
apparently  "received  the  unanimous  support  of  the  recent 
"Bleu  Convention  held  at  Tomlinson's  Landing";  and  the 
motto  or  Party  Cry  would,  of  course,  be  the  war  cry  of  the 
Bleu  Faction^ — "Let  'em  say  who  Pay!"  and  the  notice 
would  be  signed  by  "Brer  Francois  Mowling,  Sec'y  Bleu 
Ass'n  Electl.  Dist.  of  Catalinha." 

For  weeks  before  the  Election  came  off  and  for  a  long 
time  afterwards,  most  of  the  newspapers  were  "off  colour" 
— CO  to  speak — and  in  more  ways  than  one:  they  were 
printed  either  on  blue  or  mauve  paper^ — as  the  case  might  be 
— instead  of  being  printed  on  white  paper  as  would  be  the 


'  S'l 


The    Gallantry   of   a  King. 


55 


case  in  sensible  times — and  it  was  often  hard  to  make  out 
the  words.  You  see  black  letters  on  a  blue  ground  are  not 
so  easily  made  out  as  they  would  be  if  printed  on  white 
paper.  Perhaps  black  showed  plainer  on  mauve  than  on  blue 
— ^but  I  am  not  so  sure  even  as  to  that. 

And  then  during  Election  time  most  of  the  newspapers 
would  be  filled  with  trash — I  really  cannot  help  calling  it 
"trash" — about  "poKtics" — and  the  motto  or  party  cry  or 
"war  cry"  of  the  party  to  which  the  newspaper  gave  its 
allegiance  would  so  frequently  appear  in  the  columns  of  the 
paper  that  it  would  make  a  sensible  man  feel  very  tired  and 
weary  like. 

In  fact,  some  people  who  did  not  care  about  "politics"  nor 
as  to  whether  the  "ins"  got  "out"  or  the  "outs"  got  "in," 
did  not  take  any  newspaper  at  all  during  election  times. 

Well,  at  this  particular  time  there  was  no  election  exactly 
on — but  according  to  some  of  the  Bleu  newspapers  it  was 
likely  that  the  Land  would  be  in  the  throes  of  a  General 
Election  within  the  next  few  weeks.  As  "The  Purrvilk 
Weekly  Hesitater"  had  remarked— of  course  speaking 
"strictly  in  a  Pickwickian  sense" — "The  people  of  the  great 
"Land  of  the  Grimalkins  cannot  much  longer  stand  the 
"jobbery,  the  tom-foolery  and  the  arrant  humbug  of  the 
"Mauve  so-called  Government.  What  this  country  wants 
"and  what  it  will  have — what  it  must  have — is  honest  Gov- 
"emment — and  'Government  by  the  people  and  for  the 
"  'people.'  The  Mauve  farce  of  a  Government  has  been 
"played  long  enough.  The  people  have  stood  all  they  could 
"stand  and  it  only  remained  for  'the 

"  'Kettlekittle  Bridge  Job' 

"to  break  'the  camel's  back' ;  this  piece  of  political  nepotism, 
"arrant  humbug  and  horrible  jobbery  is  indeed  'the  last 
"  'straw  which  breaks  the  camel's  back.'  The  Hon.  Brer 
"Heavyweight  Holdemtight  may  think  he  can  continue  to 
"hoodwink  a  free  and  enlightened  people.  But  he  cannot. 
"We  demand  that  he  'go  to  the  country'  on  'the  Kettlekittle 
"  'Bridge  Job'  and  see  what  the  electorate  say. 
"  'Let  'em  Say  who  Pay  V  " 


56 


The   Gallantry   of   a  King. 


Yes,  the  people  of  the  Land  were  so  prosperous  that  they 
actually  seemed  to  have  time  to  waste  over  what  was  a 
veritable  "Tempest  in  a  Tea-Pot" — as  the  saying  is. 

The  Bleu  newspapers  had,  during  the  last  few  weeks, 
often  contained  in  big  staring  Head  lines  the  sta.rtling  words : 

"The  Kettlekittle  Bridge  Job! 
"Infamous  Nepotism !" 

And  now  that  Parliament  was  sitting  the  matter  was  made 
the  leading  subject  of  forensic  discussion — ^as  it  were. 

How  the  "tempest  in  a  tea-pot"  did  rage,  to  be  sure ! 

And  it  burst  forth  at  the  very  opening  of  the  Session. 

The  Speech  from  the  Throne  was  very  short  and  meagre 
indeed — "a  pretty  slim  Bill  of  Fare  indeed,"  as  the  Bleu 
member  for  South  Pussandra  had  said.  And  in  his  patriotic 
indignation  he  had  added : 

"Mr.  Speaker — such  a  slim  Bill  of  Fare  is  an  insult  to  the 
"intelligence  and  the  patriotism  of  the  honest  electorate  of 
"this  Fair  Land."  (Cheers  from  the  opposition  side  of  the 
House.)  "Do  the  gentlemen  of  Mauve  sentiments  think 
"they  can  thus  'play  fast  and  loose*  with  the  honest  electors 
" — the  hardy-handed  sons  of  toil — the  sturdy  yeomanry  of 
"the  Land  of  the  Grimalkins?"  (Loud  cheers  from  the 
opposition  benches.) 

Then  feeling  and  knowing  that  every  word  he  said  was 
being  taken  down  in  shorthand  and  would  not  only  appear  in 
the  next  morning's  Bleu  newspapers  but  would  also  be 
printed  in  the  Election  Pamphlets — "the  Campaign  Liter- 
ature"— for  use  in  the  next  Election — the  eloquent  tobacco- 
grower  from  South  Pussandra  thus  proceeded : 

"Does  the  so-called  Mauve  Government  think" 

Here  the  Bleu  spyeaker  was  "called  to  order"  by  the 
Speaker,  and  after  one  hour  and  twenty  minutes  had  been 
spent  in  "wrangling"  between  the  two  sides  of  the  House, 
the  Speaker  finally  gave  his  decision  that  the  words  "so- 
called"  as  applied  to  a  Party  "in  Power"  and  having  the 
"confidence  of  the  People"  were  awfully  "unparliamentary" 
could  not  possibly  be  tolereted. 

"I  bow  to  your  decision,  Mr.  Speaker,"  said  the  Bleu 


The   G allantry   of   a  King 


57 


member  for  South  Pussandra,  "and  I  withdraw  the  words 
"objected  to.  The  reasons  you,  sir,  have  given  seem  clear 
"and  logical — the  Mauve  gentlemen  are  certainly  *in  power' 
"now,  and,  speaking  strictly  and  formally,  they  may,  in  a 
"limited  sense,  be  said  to  have  'the  confidence  of  the  People,' 
"but — but — there's  an  old  saying,  'it's  a  long  lane  which  has 
"  'no  turn' — and  the  next  few  weeks  may  see  a  great  'turn'." 
(Loud  opposition  cheers  and  a  cry  'why  did  you  not  say  *a 
great  turn-over'?") 

"It  is  a  strange  thing,  Mr.  Speaker,'  continued  the  Hon. 
gentleman,  putting  his  "arms  a-kimbo" — as  the  saying  is — 
and  gazing  pensively  at  the  Speaker — "that  the  little  Speech 
"from  the  Throne  contained  no  reference — not  even  the 
"slightest  reference — to  the  great  subject  which  for  weeks 
"has  been  agitating  the  minds  of  the  people  of  this  Fair 
"Land."  (Loud  opposition  cheers.)  "I  refer  to  what  is 
"known  far  and  wide  as 

"  'The  Kettlekittle  Bridge  Job !'  " 
(Tumultuous  opposition  applause.) 

"Now,  as  far  as  I  can  see,  Mr.  Speaker,"  continued  the 
Bleu  member  for  South  Pussandra — this  time  folding  his 
arms  squarely  across  his  breast  and  staring  so  fixedly  at  the 
poor  Speaker  that  he  actually  stared  him  "out  of  counte- 
nance"— as  the  saying  is — "the  much-vaunted  Speech  from 
"the  Throne — despite  all  the  kind  things  said  concerning  it 
"by  the  Mauve  mover  and  the  Mauve  seconder  of  the  Ad- 
"dress — contains  practically  nothing  at  all.  (Loud  cheers 
from  the  Bleu  members.) 

"Now  let  us  scrutinize  it  a  bit — let  us  look  at  it  a  bit 
"closely:  what  does  it  contain?"  (Here  the  Hon.  gentleman 
takes  up  the  printed  "Speech  from  the  Throne"  which  lies 
on  the  little  table  before  him — squints  at  it  awfully — ^and 
then  proceeds. )  "Nothing  more,  in  eflfect  than  this :  'Hon. 
"  'Sieurs  of  the  Upper  House:  Hon.  Gentlemen  of  the  Lower 
House:  I  am  glad  to  be  able  to  congratulate  you  on  the 
following  facts :  the  new  iron  and  copper  mines  back  of  the 
embryo  City  of  Catburg  are  turning  out  well — the  tobacco 
and  tea  crops  promise  well — the  spring  calves  are  getting 


(( ( 


« ( 


i 


t 


■ 


58 


The   Gallantry   of  a  King. 


<(  < 


"  'along  very  well — so  are  the  sheep  and  the  spring  lambs — 
"  'and  the  geese  and  the  chickens  and  the  ducks  and  the 
turkeys— ^and  it  is  generally  believed  that  the  crop  of  wool 
this  year  will  be  above  the  average.' "  (Loud  laughter 
from  both  sides  of  the  House,  and  repeated  cheers  from  the 
opposition  side.)  "Oh,  I  forgot — I  must  do  it  justice — the 
"speech  does  include  these  words:  'I  am  glad  to  know  the 
"  'new  railway — "Le  Grand  Sud — Chemine  de  fer" — is  well 
"  'under  way  and  it  is  hoped  through  trains  will  be  running 
"  'between  Mieauburg  and  Pussy  burg  by  the  Fall.  Another 
"'great  Trunk  Line — -"Le  Grand  Occident — Chemine  de 
"  'fer" — is  seeking  incorporation  at  your  hands  this  present 
'"Session  of  Parliament.  These  are — Hon.  Sieurs  of  the 
"  'Upper  House  and  Hon.  Commoners — surely  signs  of  great 
"  'progress  and  advancement.' "  (Loud  cheers  from  the 
Government  side.) 

"Now,  sir,"  continued  the  Bleu  member  for  South  Pus- 
sandra — a-gazing  solemnly  and  dejectedly  at  "Mr.  Speaker" 
— "I  would  like  to  ask  you,  sir,  if  you  can  find  a  single  word 
"in  this  whole  Speech  from  the  Throne  which  refers — even 
"indirectly,  sir — to  the  great  subject  which  is  now  agitating 
"the  minds  of  so  many  of  His  Majesty's  liege  subjects.  1 
"refer  to 

"  'The  Kettlekittle  Bridge  Job.' " 
(Tremendous  opposition  cheering.) 

"Not  a  word,  sir,  not  a  word." 

"Now,  sir,"  continued  the  wound-up  member  for  Pus- 
sondra  South — ^and  again  placing  his  arms  "a-kimbo" — and 
again  staring  the  poor  Speaker  out  of  countenance:  "I 
"lately  held  in  my  hand  a  great  'Org^n  of  Public  Opinion' — 
"as  the  saying  is — a  'live  newspaper' — ^as  the  saying  is — pub- 
"lished  in  the  center  of  a  rich  farming  conmiunity.  I  refer, 
"sir,  to  'The  Weekly  Purrville  Hesitater.'"  (Loud  cheers 
from  the  Bleu  members.)  "I  said  'I  lately  held  in  my  hand,* 
"but,  sir,  I  will  now  speak  in  the  present  tense  and  not  in 
"the  past,  and  I  will  read  to  you,  with  your  permission,  ex- 
"actly  what  that  able  and  representative  and  influential 
"journal  has  recently  said,  in  the  course  of  an   able  and 


The    Gallantry   of  a  King. 


59 


"thoughtful  editorial,  on  that  great  and  burning  question  of 
"the  day." 

And  then,  amidst  tumultuous  cheers  from  the  opposition 
members,  the  member  for  Pussandra  South,  read  the  Edi- 
torial Remarks  which^  I  have  lately  given  to  the  reader  of 
these  pages.    He  then  continued : 

"What  does  the  word  'nepotism'  mean?  I  see  the  word 
"appears  in  big,  staring  Headlines.  It  must  mean  some- 
thing." 

Then  he  added  solemnly : 

"I  will  tell  you,  sir,  what  it  means.  The  word  'nepotism' 
"is  a  word  lately  imported  from  the  classic  Hindoostanie 
"into  our  own  classic  Sanscrit.  It  has,  sir,  so  to  speak,  be- 
"come  'engrafted'  on  or  into  our  Language.  It  is  derived 
"from  the  word  'nepos,  nepoti.'*  Need  I  tell  the  gentlemen 
"opposite,  the  literal  meaning  and  significance  of  those 
"words  ?  They  mean — for  the  general  information  of  my 
"honorable  friends  opposite  I  will  give  the  literal  translation 
" — 'nephew — of  a  nephew'  I"  (Tremendous  cheers  from  the 
opposition  benches.) 

"Now,  in  all  fairness  and  candor,  can  I  not  ask,  sir;  can 
"I  not  ask  why  did  not  the  Speech  from  the  Throne  mention 
"the  little  incident — ^the  little  fact — that  the  Contractor  for 
"the  Kettlekittle  Bridge  was  the  great-grand  nephew  of  the 
"Mauve  member — the  Government  member — for  the  Elec- 
"toral  District  of  Catalinha ? ? ?"  (Tremendous  cheers  from 
the  Bleu  members.) 

Then  he  continued  pensively:  "I  regret  that  I  cannot 
"support  my  Hon.  friends,  the  mover  and  seconder  of  the 
"Address.  I  am  a  loyal  citizen  of  the  Land — a  loyal  subject 
" — my  Constituents  in  Pussandra  South  are  also  loyal  and 
"patriotic  citizens  and  subjects.  The  address  is  lacking  in 
"the  important  matter  which  I  have  mentioned,  'Let  *em  say 
"  'who  payV  "     (Loud  opposition  cheers.) 

"And  I  will  therefore,  Mr.  Speaker,  with  your  permission, 
"move — seconded  by  my  Hon.  friend  the  member  for  East 
"Pussyburg — a  resolution  of  'want  of  confidence'  in  the  Gov- 

*il  wonder  if  old  "Cornelius  Nepos"  of  Latin  fame,  had  anything 
to  do  with  the  matter — ^Translator. 


^ 


■t 


'^'tfls 


i^t't   ^^jMf^^'--\ilCr'2'^t  l^'i^i 


6o 


The   G allantry   of   a   King . 


"ernment  of  the  Day."     (Loud  and  continued  cheers  from 
the  opposition  benches.) 

To  show  how  closely  "Party  Lines"  were  run  in  the  Land 
at  the  thne  of  this  narrative,  the  newspapers  issued  next 
morning  showed  that  the  Resolution  of  "Want  of  Confi- 
dence" was  only  defeated  by  the  "narrow  majority"  of  three ! 

And  the  funny  thing  about  the  matter  is  that  as  far  as  one 
can  ascertain — as  far  as  it  now  appears — nothing  wrong  had 
been  done  by  anybody — except  it  were  wrong  for  the  M.  P. 
for  Catalinha  to  have  a  great-grand-nephew ! 

It  seems  there  were  two  leading  Government  Roads  or 
"Colonization  Roads,"  as  they  were  generally  called.  One, 
*'the  Great  Colonization  Road,"  started  at  the  Capital— 
Mieauburg — and  ran  south  to  West  Catburg — that  is,  to 
the  half  of  the  embryo  City  of  Catburg  which  was  situated 
on  the  west  side  of  the  Cattawaul  and  hence  called  "West 
Catburg,"  is  started  again  on  the  east  side  of  the  Cattawaul 
at  East  Catburg  and  ran  south  to  Pussyburg.  There  was 
a  Ferry  Service  between  West  Catburg  and  East  Catburg. 
The  Ferry  Boats  used  were  large  affairs — big  enough  to  take 
across  a  farmer's  whde  outfit — team  of  stout  horses, 
waggon  filled  with  potatoes  or  turnips  or  oats  or  what  not. 

"The  New  Colonization  Road"  started  at  West  Catburg 
and  ran  west  or  a  little  south  of  west  into  the  new  and 
rapidly-settling  District  of  Pussandra. 

Well,  the  Government  built  and  maintained  these  "Colon- 
ization Roads" — ^and  wherever  the  Road  crossed  a  stream  or 
"Creek"  (generally  pronounced  "Crick")  a  Bridge  had  to 
be  built  and  kept  in  repair  by  the  Government.  Of  course, 
in  connection  with  the  building  and  keeping  in  repair  of 
Colonization  Roads  and  Bridges  a  large  sum  of  money  had 
necessarily  to  be  spent  and  disbursed  every  year  by  the 
Government.  There  was  a  special  Branch  of  the  Crown 
Lands  Department  at  Mieauburg  which  had  entire  charge 
of  the  building  and  repairing  Colonization  Roads  and 
Bridges — the  Branch  being  called  "Le  Bureau  des  Colonisa- 
tion Chemins  et  Fonts." 

About  half  way  between  East  Catburg  and  Pussyburg  the 
Kettlekittle  Creek  tumbles  noisily  into  the  classic  Cattawaul 


I' 


The   G allantry   of   a  King. 


6i 


and  in  the  course  of  its  route  "the  Great  Colonization  Road" 
crosses  the  Kettlekittle.  The  Creek  is  pretty  wide  at  this 
point  and  a  pretty  long  and  high  Bridge  is  required. 

For  some  years,  and  since  the  Road  was  first  built,  a 
wooden  structure  had  sufficed.  This  old  Bridge  had  done 
good  service  and  might,  perhaps,  if  it  had  been  "patched 
up" — as  the  saying  is — ^have  answered  the  purpose  for  a 
while  longer.  But  the  traffic  on  the  Road  was  already  great 
and  was  steadily  increasing,  and  the  Department  thought  it 
would  be  in  the  interest  of  the  traveling  public  if  an  iron 
Bridge  were  built  over  the  Kettlekittle.  ' 

The  Government  Engineer  advertised  for  tenders  for  the 
construction  and  the  contract  was  awarded  to  a  large  Bridge- 
Building  concern  at  Catburg.  The  work  was  done  to  the 
satisfaction  of  the  Government  Engineer  and  in  a  few  weeks 
a  stately  iron  structure  spanned  the  classic  Kettlekittle.  "So 
far  so  good" — as  the  saying  is.  The  farmers  and  draymen 
who  used  the  Bridge  thought  everything  was  all  right.  The 
Bridge  certainly  looked  a  fine  and  strong  structure. 

But  "like  a  thunder-bolt  out  of  a  clear  sky" — ^as  the  saying 
is — the  report  came  and  was  speedily  noised  by  the  Bleu 
Press  all  over  the  Land,  that  the  President  of  the  concern 
which  built  the  Bridge  and  whose  name  appeared  carved  on 
the  Bridge  itself  at  each  end :  "Built  by  the  East  Catburg 
Bridge  and  Dock  Building  Company  (Limited);"  that  the 
President  actually  was  a  great-grand  nephew  of  the  sitting 
Mauve  member — ^the  Government  member — for  Catalinha. 

What  all  this  had  to  do  with  the  matter  is  not  quite  easy 
at  this  date  to  understand.  The  work  was  let  by  tender  and 
done  by  contract ;  the  Bridge  itself  was  not  within  the  Con- 
stituency of  Catalinha ;  the  President  of  the  Bridge  Company 
did  not  live  in  that  Constituency — nor  was  the  Head  Office 
of  the  Company  in  that  Constituency.  Nor  was  it  even 
alleged  that  the  member  for  Catalinha  had  had  anything 
personally  to  do  with  the  matter  one  way  or  the  other. 

But  then,  according  to  the  Bleu  press,  the  affair  was 
clearly  a  matter  of  "Nepotism ;"  was  not  the  President  of  the 
Bridge  Company  the  great-grand  nei^ew  of  the  Govern- 
ment member  for  the  Electoral  District  of  Catalinha? 


W 


■i   4 

] 


/ 


62 


The   Gallantry   of   a   King. 


i  I- 

;  ft 


5' 


Did  not  that  fact  settle  the  matter? 

At  any  rate,  the  fact  that  such  a  "hubbub"  could  be  raised 
and  such  a  "tempest  in  a  tea-pot"  brewed  over  the  matter, 
showed  that  the  people  generally  felt  that  they  now  had  time 
and  leisure  to  make  a  study  of  "Politics"  as  a  science — so 
to  speak.  It  also  showed  that  a  new  race  or  class  of  people 
was  being  raised  in  the  land,  viz:  "the  professional 
politician." 

In  the  early  days — the  "pioneer  days" — the  people  were 
too  busy  to  bother  with  "Politics"  and  there  were  no  such 
people  as  "Professional  Politicians."  There  was  no  time  for 
"hubbubs"  or  "tempests  in  tea-pots." 

But  now '''nous  avous  change  tout  celal*  said  "the  pro- 
fessional politician." 

In  the  early  days  there  was  no  room  in  the  little  busy 
world  for  such  an  occupation  as  that  of  the  "ward  politician" 
or  the  "professional  politician" — but  now !  alas ! 

Well,  the  Resolution  of  the  member  for  Pussandra  South 
had  been  defeated  by  a  majority  of  three,  and  the  Speaker 
had  just  declared,  the  result  when  a  loud  rap— three  times 
repeated — came  at  the  Chamber  Door. 

In  order  to  "ascertain  the  cause  of  the  alarm"  we  had 
better  go  back  a  little — only  a  few  hours.  Amongst  the 
members  of  the  Upper  House — "Les  Sieurs" — none  was 
better  known  or  more  prominent  than  Le  Sieur  D'Ulric. 

He  had  a  large  estate  or  sheep  ranch  in  the  Blue  Moun- 
tains about  due  east  of  Catburg.  The  now-famous  Kettle- 
kittle  Creek  or  "Crick"  took  its  rise  in  some  springy  land  at 
the  northeast  corner  of  the  Ranch. 

The  Sieur  remained  on  his  estate  all  the  year  except  dur- 
ing the  few  weeks  during  which  Parliament  would  be  sitting. 
During  that  time,  of  course,  he  was  in  the  capital — 
Mieauburg. 

The  Sieur  and  King  Grimalkin  the  First  were  great 
friends.  For  years  His  Majesty  had  been  in  the  habit  of 
making  frequent  visits  to  the  Mountain  Home  of  D'Ulric. 
Sometimes  the  King  would  remain  weeks  at  a  time  with  his 
friend.  During  the  Sittings  of  the  Upper  House  the  Sieur 
was  a  welcome  guest  at   the  Royal   Palace  on  "the  Big 


The   Gallantry  of   a  King. 


63 


Square."    In  fact,  the  King  would  not  have  permitted  his 
friend  to  have  lodged  at  a  Hotel. 

I  should  not  forget  to  add  that  D'Ulric  had  another  great 
friend — not  a  Royal  one — not  a  Noble — but  a  plain  Com- 
moner— named  Machelle.  This  gentleman  lived  with  his 
widow  mother  on  a  neighboring  Ranch  in  the  Blue  Moun- 
tains, and  for  years  D'Ulric  and  Machelle  had  been  constant 
and  almost  inseparable  friends,  "chums"  and  "comrades." 
^Some  years  ago,  in  order  that  the  friends  might  not  be  sep- 
arated during  the  time  the  "House  <le  les  Sieurs"  was 
sitting,  D'Ulric  hit  upon  a  plan  which  had  worked  very  well ; 
there  were  several  gentlemen  who  every  Session  attended 
the  House  and  performed  certain  little  official  duties;  the 
duties  were  so  light  that  the  office  was  practically  a  sinecure. 
The  occupants  of  the  office  were  generally  called  "Sessional 
Writers" — sometimes  "Assistant  Clerks." 

Well,  Machelle  received  the  appointment  as  "Sessional 
Writer"  and  had  in  the  discharge  of  his  official  duties  given 
general  satisfaction  to  the  noble  Sieurs  on  each  side  of  the 
Upper  House. 

On  the  morning  of  the  day  on  which,  in  the  House  of 
Commons,  the  member  for  Pussandra  South  had  made  such 
a  vigorous  denunciation  of  the  Mauve  Government,  and  the 
Mauve  Policy,  and  the  Mauve  affairs  generally,  the  King 
called  on  the  Sieur  before  the  latter  had  started  for  "the 
House."  After  seating  himself  in  an  easy  chair  near  the 
oi)en  window  and  refilling  his  pipe  and  lighting  it — His 
Majesty  opened  the  conversation  thus : 

"Comrade  Ulric,  I  have  come  to  have  a  'confab'  with  you. 
/'And  I  am  afraid  it  is  rather  of  a  serious  nature.  I  must 
"apologize,  but  I  cannot  help  it." 

"My  Liege,"  said  the  Sieur,  "if  there  is  anything  on  your 
"mind — ^anything  in  which  I  can  possibly  help  you — you 
"know  you  only  have  to  command  me." 

"I  know  that,  old  man,"  replied  His  Majesty,  rising  and" 
affectionately  placing  his  hand  on  the  Sieur's  shoulder,  "the 
"only  command  I  have  to  make  at  present  is  that  you  fill  your 
"pipe  and  light  it ;  then  I  will  proceed  to  unburden  my  mind." 

"Alright,  my  Liege,  your  command  shall  be  obeyed — ^but" 


f 


.•  »!l.r?mpr*l|Wip»«fc":«giT7' 


64 


The   Gallantry   of  a  King . 


(looking  at  his  watch)  "would  I  offend  your  Majesty  if  I 
"reminded  you  that  in  about  twenty  minutes  I  shall  be  due 
"in  my  seat  in  the  noble  'House  de  les  Sieurs.'  " 

"I  will  ask  you,  my  friend,  as  a  favor  to  me,"  replied  His 
Sovereign,  "to  forego  attendance  at  the  House  this  morning. 
"You  can  send  a  message  of  apology  to  the  Speaker  and 
"you  can,  of  course,  attend  the  evening  Session.  It  will  take 
"us  a  little  time  to  have  our  'confab,'  and  after  you  have 
"heard  what  I  wish  to  say,  you  will  agree  with  me  that  the 
"matter  is  of  sufficient  importance  to  warrant  me  in  making 
"the  request." 

Thereupon  the  Sieur  despatched  a  suitable  letter  of  apology 
to  the  Speaker,  and  this  being  done,  and  having  filled  his  pipe 
and  lit  it,  and  having  seated  himself  in  an  easy  chair  vis  a  vis 
with  his  friend  and  monarch,  he  waited  to  hear  the  important 
matter  concerning  which  his  Royal  friend  and  host  wished 
to  speak  to  him. 

"Ulric !  I  will  at  once  plunge  'in  medias  res' — as  learned 
"authors  say — and  then  afterwards  I  can  explain.  I  am 
about  to  resign  my  kingly  crown;  about  to  abdicate  the 
"throne." 

"Nonsense !  Excuse  me,  my  Liege,  but  I  cannot  help  it ! 
"Nonsense !"     ■ 

"It  is  a  fact,  nevertheless,"  continued  the  King. 

"I  presume  I  have  not  heard  you  aright  or  am  rather 
"obtuse  this  morning,"  said  the  Sieur,  wonderingly. 

Then  the  King  proceeded :  "I  knew  it  would  surprise  you 
"and  it  will  greatly  surprise  the  noble  Sieurs  of  the  Upper 
"House  and  the  loyal  Commoners  of  the  Lower  House  when 
"I  also  make  to  them  the  announcement  this  evening.  The 
"fact  is  that  I  came  to  the  conclusion  some  weeks  ago  and 
"have  thoroughly  considered  the  whole  matter.  It  seems  to 
"me  that  the  Land  would  perhaps  be  better  governed  if  we 
"had  a  Queen — some  fair  one  to  reign  over  us.  Please  don't 
"interrupt  me,  my  friend.  There  are  fair  'Queens  of  the 
"  'Household'  all  over  the  Land — in  merchant's  mansion  and 
"in  shepherd's  cot.  Why  should  we  not  have  a  Queen  on 
"the  throne?  The  experiment  is  worth  trying  at  all  events. 
"Yeas  ago,  when  I  was  elected  by  the  unanimous  vote  of 


The    Gallantry   of   a   King. 


65 


' 


"both  Houses  of  Parliament  to  the  responsible  position  of 
"King,  I  only  accepted  the  Kingly  office  on  the  distinct  un- 
"dedrstanding  that  I  could  resign  at  any  time  I  saw  fit  on 
"giving  three  month's  notice  of  my  wish  and  intention  so  to 
"do.    The  Act  of  Parliament  which  vested  in  me  the  Kingly 
"office  contains  this  right  of  abdication — it  also  gives  me 
"the  right — subject,  of  course,  to  ratification  by  both  Houses 
" — to  name  my  successor  in  office.     Now,  having  come  to 
"the  clear  conclusion  that  the  Land  of  the  Grimalkins  should 
"be  governed  by  a  Queen,  it  becomes  my  plain  duty  to  re- 
"sig^ — ^^to  abdicate.     Please  don't  interrupt  me  until  I  am 
"entirely  finished.    I  don't  want  to  'lose  the  thread'  of  my 
"discourse — ^as  the  saying  it.     Now,  as  to  who  the  Queen 
"shall  be  I  cannot  say.    I  have  not  decided  on  any  person — 
"any  Lady — in  whose  favour  I  should  abdicate;  therefore 
"I  cannot  exercise  my  right  to  name  a  successor.    I  have 
"given  the  whole  subject  a  good  deal  of  thought.    It  seems 
"to  me  the  choice  of  a  Queen  should  fall  upon  some  one 
"outside  and  not  inside  the  realm.    You  see  there  are  already 
."so  many  uncrowned  Queens  in  the  Land — so  many  fair 
"  'Queens  of  the  Household'— each  of    whom    perhaps    is 
"equally  deserving  of  the  high  honor,  and  any  one  of  whom 
"probably  would  be  equally  capable  of  filling  the  high  office 
"with  credit  to  herself  and  honour  to  the  nation.    And  then, 
"my  friend,  I  am  afraid  it  might  give  rise  to  a  certain 
"amount  of  jealousy  if  the  choice  fell  upon  any  one  out  of 
"the  hundreds — probably  thousands — uncrowned  Queens  of 
"the  Household,  living  in  the  Land  of  the  Grimalkins.     I 
"have  bethought  myself  of  a  way  in  which  the  whole  matter 
"can,  I  think,  be  easily  and  quickly  and  fitly  arranged — 
"that  is,  if  you  and  your  friend  Machelle  will  consent." 

"I  and  my  friend  Machelle  consent,"  wonderingly  re- 
peated the  amazed  Sieur. 

"Yes — I  am  going  to  suggest  to  the  two  Houses  of  Parlia- 
"ment — of  course,  the  consent  of  yourself  and  Machelle 
"being  firstly  obtained — that  an  Act  of  Parliament  be  forth- 
"with  passed  vesting  in  you  and  Machelle  the  power  to 
"choose  and  select  a  Queen  for  the  Land  of  the  Grimalkins 
"from  without  the  Land,  and  conferring  upon  the  subject  of 


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66 


The   Gallantry   of   a  King, 


t  ■ 


&^|V 


m  ' 


"your  united  choice  the  throne  which  is  to  be  vacated  by  me 
"at  the  expiration  of  three  months  from  to-day." 

"I  don't  want  to  interrupt  your  Majesty,"  said  Ulric  at 
this  point;  "I  simply  wished  to  observe  'en  passant' — as  it 
"were — that  you  are  'taking  my  breath  away' — as  the  saying 
"is.  And  that  it  is  not  considered  quite  'good  form' — as  the 
"saying  is — for  one  person  to  take  away  the  breath  of  an- 
"other.  In  fact,  I  might  go  further  and  enlarge  upon  the 
"proposition — somewhat  thusly:  A  person  cannot  live 
"withcn.it  breath ;  if  you  take  away  a  person's  breath  you  do 
"thereu|X)n,  therefore,  prevent  his  living — you  are  therefore 
"killing  him.  As  I  have  said,  this  is  only  a  little  remark  en 
"passant — as  it  were — and  in  order  to  relieve  my  pent-up 
"feelings — as  it  were.  I  apologize  for  interrupting  you  in 
"your  so-pathetic  recital.    Will  your  Majesty  now  proceed  ?" 

"I  have  nothing  more  to  add  that  I  think  of  just  now,"  said 
the  King. 

"Are  you  really  in  earnest,  my  Liege?"  asked  the  Sieur. 

"Really  and  truly,"  answered  the  King. 

"I  wonder  what  Machelle  will  say,"  said  Le  Sieur — partly 
to  himself  and  partly  to  the  King. 

"Oh,  I  have  no  doubt  as  to  that,"  said  His  Majesty ;  "he 
"will  be  glad  to  accompany  you  anywhere  and  on  any  errand 
" — saying  nothing  about  the  delightful  and  extremely  ro- 
"raantic  character  of  this  particular  errand.  You  are  both 
"  'Ladies'  Men' — as  the  saying  is — both  devoted  'Squires 
"  'aux  Dames.' " 

"My  Liege,  I  am  sure  you  will  pardon  my  not  talking  very 
"much  just  now.  I  have  not  yet,  in  fact,  fully  recovered  my 
"breath.  But — weak  as  I  feel — might  I  ask  your  Majesty 
"why  you,  who  are  so  gallant  a  man,  as  well  as  monarch — 
"why  you,  who  are  yourself  a  devoted  'Squire  aux  Dames' — 
"why  you,  who  carry  within  you  the  romantic  heart  of  a 
"Poet — why,  in  fact,  don't  you  get  a  'Queen  of  your  own  ?" 

"A  Queen  of  my  own !"  echoed  the  monarch. 

"Yes — surely  out  of  the  hundreds — or  was  it  thousands? 
"^-of  'uncrowned  Queens' — 'Queens  of  the  Household' — as 
"you  so  poetically,  and  yet  truly,  have  remarked — you  could 
"choose  a  Lady  who  would  not  only  be  the  Queen  of  your 


•/ 


The   Gallantry   of   a  King. 


67 


"Heart  and  of  your  'Household'  but  also  Queen  of  the  fair 
"Land  of  which  you  are  King!  My  Liege — let  me  make  a 
"practical  suggestion — you  know  I  am  a  practical  man  and 
"a  sheep  Rancher :  do  this — follow  my  suggestion — and  thus 
"settle  the  matter." 

"It  cannot  be!  It  cannot  be,"  said  the  King,  sighing 
deeply. 

"Pardon  me,  my  Liege,  pardon  me,  if  in  my  jesting  mood 
" — you  know  it  is  my  nature  to  jest — I  have  said  anything 
"to  wound  your  feelings.  They  do  say,  my  Liege — our  loyal 
"subjects  sometimes  say — that  you  have  been  'crossed  in 
"love:  " 

"Crossed  in  love?"  repeated  the  Monarch. 

"Yes,  that  is  Avhat  people  sometimes  say,  my  Liege ;  and 
"it  is  no  wonder — considering  that  you — such  a  handsome 
"man — and  a  man  with  such  a  romantic  spirit  and  tempera- 
"ment — and  withal  such  a  gallant  'Squire  aux  Dames' — have 
"remained  single." 

"Are  you  feeling  strong  enough,  just  now,  to  listen  to  a 
"short  story  concerning  myself — the  narration  of  a  little  in- 
"cident  which  occurred  years  ago  and  which,  perhaps — in 
"a  measure,  at  least — may  hear  on  the  matter  of  your  last 
"remarks  ?" 

"Please  proceed,  my  Liege.  If  it  is  romantic  I  shall  be 
"pleased  to  hear  it — that  is,  if  it  will  not  pain  your  Majesty 
"to  make  the  narration." 

"It  was  one  stormy  day,  in  the  early  winter,  some  twenty 
"years  ago.  The  snow  had  commenced  to  fall  earlier  than 
"usual  that  season — already  the  snow  was  so  deep  that  teams 
"found  it  hard  work  to  navigate  the  country  roads — and 
"single  conveyances  found  it  almost  impossible  to  proceed. 
"All  that  day  it  snowed  and  snowed  and  snowed,  and  it 
"blowed  and  blowed  and  blowed  until  in  some  places  the 
"  'dr'  ^ts'  were  as  high,  nearly,  as  the  houses.  Navigation  on 
"the     ads  ceased  entirely.    I  do  not  know  how  the  new  Rail- 


« 


which  is  being  built  would  do  under  such  circum- 
•es,  but  the  stage  coaches  had  to  'give  it  up  as  a  bad 
j<^    — as  the  saying  is.    I  had,  you  perhaps  may  remember, 
"been  visiting  your  Estate  and  I  was  on  my  way  home  to  the 


W' 

"su 


'v/ 


68 


The   Gallantry   of   a  King . 


"Capital.  I  had  snowshoed  across  the  Trail  from  your 
"Mountain  Home  to  Catburg.  It  was  hard  work ;  there  was 
"no  'crust'  as  yet — it  was  too  early  in  the  season.  The  snow 
"was  deep  and  soft  and  wet.  As  an  old  song  says — so 
"pathetically — 


"  'The  hail  was  hard  to  follow. 
"  'The  snow  was  deep  and  wet, 
"  *I  sink  down  o'er  my  boot  tops, 
"  'My  darling !  oh  my  pet !' 


.;  r 


J 


•X.. 


"To  show  you  how  fast  the  snow  fell  that  afternoon,  I 
'may  say  that  as  I  tramped  along  the  snow  entirely  covered 
my  shoe  marks,  and  as  I  looked  behind  me,  instead  of 
seeing  the  usual  pretty  track  behind  which  one's  snow  shoes 
'generally  leave,  there  was  nothing  but  'the  driven  snow' — 
'and  no  sign  that  ever  a  snow  shoe  had  passed  over  its  sur- 
face. The  night  stage  usually  left  'the  Elephant  and 
'Castle'  in  Catburg  West — for  Mieauburg — at  seven 
sharp;  and  traveling  all  night,  and  changing  horses  every 
ten  miles,  reached  'the  White  Horse*  at  Mieauburg  at  about 
'nine  the  next  morning. 

"The  Road  had  been  so  heavy  and  I  had  been  so  long  on 
'the  Trail  that  I  was  afraid  I  would  miss  the  Coach.  I 
'made  the  best  time  I  could — reaching  East  Catburg  at  about 
'half-past  six.  Then  without  stopping  to  rest,  I  pushed 
'across  the  River,  which,  of  course,  was  frozen.  On  my 
'way  across  I  was  afraid  every  minute  that- 1  would  hear  the 
'warning  bugle  note  of  the  Guard,  which  you  know  he  blows 
'so  merrily  about  five  minutes  before  he  waves  his  hand  to 
'the  coachman  and  jumps  to  his  seat.  But  no  bugle  note 
'came  to  my  ear,  although  a  stiff  'nor'wester'  was  blowing, 
'and  the  wind  would  have  carried  the  sound  to  me.  You 
'know  'The  Elephant  and  Castle'  is  built  on  a  little  hill  near 
the  bank  of  the  River,  and  just  near  the  westerly  end  of 
the  'ice  bridge'  between  'the  two  Catburgs.'  In  the  summer 
the  way  ferries  ply  overlilmost  the  self-same  course  as  that 
over  which  one  can  walk  after  'the  ice  takes* — as  the  saying 
is.  The  cold  weather  had  set  in  earlier  than  usual  that  sea- 
son, and  the  'ice  bridge'  had  formed  earlier  than  usual. 


> 


t  ■* 


The   Gallantry   of  a  King. 


69 


"Well,  from  the  time  I  first  could  see  the  'Elephant  and 

*  'Castle'  I  kept  a  sharp  lookout  for  the  coach — expecting  I 
'would  see  it  run  out  of  the  bam  in  a  hurry,  placed  on  the 
'street  in  front  of  the  big  Hostelry,  and  rapidly  be  filled  with 
'travelers  and  driven  off  before  I  was  within  hailing  dis- 
'tance.  But  nothing  of  the  sort  occurred.  In  fact,  I  had 
'hurried  so  that  I  would  have  been  in  time  anyway,  as  it  was 
'only  three  minutes  to  seven  when  I  reached  the  Hotel  Door 
'and  looked  at  my  watch.  I  said  to  the  affable  clerk,  'Do 
'  'you  think  the  guard  could  hold  the  Mieauburg  mail  for 
'  'about  ten  minutes,  so  that  I  could  take  a  cup  of  coffee  and 
'  'something  to  eat,  as  I  have  been  on  the  snowshoe  tramp 
"all  day?' 

"The  clerk  laughed  and  said,  'You  can  have  all  night,  I 
'  'guess,  to  eat  a  comfortable  dinner,  sir,  as  it  is  not  likely 
'  'the  stage  will  leave  until  the  storm  is  over.  Perhaps  not 
'  'even  then  for  a  while,  as  the  guard  and  conductor  might 
'  'prefer  to  wait  until  the  roads  have  been  a  little  tracked — 
'  'after  the  storm.' 

"Then  he  added:  'But  there  are  the  two  officers  them- 
'  'selves.  You  can  talk  to  them,'  and  he  pointed  towards 
'two  gentlemen  who  were  sitting  in  front  of  the  big  open 
'fireplace  at  the  other  end  of  the  big  office  or  sitting-room — 
'a — smoking  their  pipes. 

"  'Thanks,'  I  said ;  'I  know  them  pretty  well  through  trav- 
'  'eling  up  and  down  once  in  a  while.* 

"So  I  went  over  to  the  big  fireplace  and  said,  'Excuse  me, 

*  'gentlemen,  I  presume  I  am  still  in  time  for  the  night 
"coach  to  Mieauburg?' 

"  'No  doubt  about  it,  sir,'  answered  the  guard.  'None  in 
'  'the  least,'  said  the  coachman.  And  then  they  puffed  away 
'at  their  pipes  as  hard  as  ever — and  each  looking  as  intently 
'into  the  fire  as  if  they  were  reading  their  fortunes  therein, 
'so  to  speak.  The  logs  which  had  been  placed  on  the  fire 
'had  burned  so  well  that  now  they  were  nothing  but  red  hot 
'coals,  in  which  you  could  see  houses  and  roads  and  castles 
'and  stage  coaches ;  and,  in  fact,  most  anything  you  wanted : 
'that  is,  if  you  were  imaginative  and  romantic  and  poetical, 
'as,  of  course,  were  the  conductor  and  the  guard  of  'the 


liipliiippipi 


70 


The   G allantry   of   a  King. 


"  'Flying  Grimalkin/  as  their  coach  was  called.  It  was,  you 
"know,  a  very  fine  affair.  At  that  time  it  was  a  new  coach 
"' — 'brand  new* — as  the  saying  is.  The  gold,  or  brass — 
"whichever  it  was — Grimalkin  painted  on  its  big,  bulging 
"sides  fairly  shone,  it  was  so  bright.  Even  now,  after  so 
"many  years,  it  is  still  a  handsome  coach;  of  course  it  has 
"been  painted  two  or  three  times  since — perhaps  several 
"times. 

"  'I  know  the  coach  well  myself,  my  Liege,'  answered  the 
"Sieur;  'it  is  still  called  "the  Flying  Grimalkin,"  and  I 
"  'fancy  it  has  had  the  same  Coachman  and  Guard  for  a  great 
"  'many  years.'  Probably  the  two  officials  who  now  preside 
"are  the  very  self-same  men  who  sat  by  the  inn  fireside  that 
"evening  a-smoking  of  their  pipes.  'The  Flying  Grimalkin' 
"is  a  favorite  Coach  and  a  comfortable  one — and  whenever 
"I  do  not  come  by  water  I  try  and  arrange  to  catch  the 
"  'Grimalkin.*  Of  course  if  it  is  in  summer  time  I  generally 
"try  and  catch  some  upbound  craft,  my  Liege — preferably 
"a  'stone-hooker.' 

"A  'stone  hooker' ! 

"Yes,  a  'stone  hooker.'  I  prefer  one  of  those  jolly,  easy- 
"going,  'go-as-you-please'  craft  to  most  anything  else.  You 
"know,  I  do  not  get  away  from  the  Ranch  very  much.  In 
"fact,  I  like  the  life  there  so  much  that  I  prefer  living  there, 
"and  would  not  change  my  life  for  that  of  anyone  I  know ; 
"not  even  excepting  the  life  of  your  Majesty  the  King  of  the 
"Land.  Of  course  I  have  to  come  here  to  the  Capital  at 
"least  once  in  a  year  and  i>erform  my  duties  as  a  member  of 
"the  House  of  Sieurs,  but  I  am  always  glad  when  the  House 
"prorogues  or  adjourns  and  I  can  get  back  to  the  Blue 
"Mountains.  Well,  generally  'the  House'  meets  at  such  a 
"time  that  I  can  come  by  water,  and  then  I  slip  down  to  East 
"Catburg  and  I  watch  for  an  opportunity  of  getting  up  the 
"River  by  water.  I  have  come  that  way  so  often  that  I 
"know  most  of  the  Tug  men  and  the  'Stone  Hooker'  men — 
"and  men  working  on  other  craft  sailing  up  and  down  the 
"classic  Cattawaul.  And  1  feel  proud  to  say  that  I  believe  I 
"have  many  warm  friends  among  those  hardy  mariners.  Of 
"course  none  of  them  would  take  any  money  from  me  in  re- 


The    Gallantry   of    a  King. 


71 


"turn  for  my  passage.  But  when  at  Catburg  I  bethink  me 
"to  buy  something  or  other  as  a  little  present — sometimes  a 
"good  brier-root  pipe  and  a  couple  of  pounds  of  the  very 
"choicest  tobacco  grown  in  Pussandra  and  'sun-cured' — 
"sometimes  I  buy  two  or  three  pretty  little  dolls  and  get  some 
"fair  Modiste  to  dress  them  tastily;  and  I  generally  buy 
"some  good  candies — of  the  variety  known  as  'mixed.'  I 
"get  the  candies  done  up  in  several  small  packets  and  I  put 
"them  in  my  portmanteau — and  it's  a  fact  that  never  yet  did 
"I  make  the  voyage  between  Catburg  and  Mieauburg  with- 
"out  having  en  route— as  the  saying  is — made  a  very  good 
"disposition  of  all  my  candies  and  any  other  little  presents 
"I  might  have  in  that  portmanteau.  But  I  am  afraid  I  weary 
"you,  my  Liege,  and  I  had  no  business  to  interrupt  you.  I 
"apologize.  Please  go  on  with  the  narration  of  the  roman- 
"tic  incident  which  I  thus  rudely  interrupted.  You  were 
"only  just  commencing  the  'Story.'  In  fact,  my  Liege — as 
"one  might  say — you  had  only  just  finished  the  'Preface' 
"and  were  about  to  commence  the  'Introduction.'  Please  go 
"on,  my  Liege.  I  just  love  'Romances'  and  'Love  Stories' — 
"especially  if  they  are  true ;  and  I  know  this  will  be  a  true 
"Love  Story." 

"Well,  Sieur  D'Ulric,  I  will  only  continue  the  telling  of 
"my  little  Romance  on  condition  that  you  go  on  and  tell  me 
"all  about  those  little  presents — to  whom  do  you  give  them, 
"and  so  on.  And  then  I  want  a  learned  dissertation  on  the 
"marine  genus  'stone  hooker.*  'Between  you  and  me  and  the 
lamp  post' — as  the  saying  is — I  always  admired  greatly  the 
stone  hooker'  myself,  and  thought,  after  all,  there  was  an 
"air  of  'reserve* — as  it  were — about  them — an  air  of  poetry 
"and  romance,  so  to  speak.  But  no  one  else  seemed  to  agree 
"with  me.  So  you  can  easily  understand  I  am  glad  to  have 
"come  across  a  man  who  frankly  admits  he  admires  the 
"  'stone-hooker.'  I  have  often  walked  down  to  the  docks, 
"and  along  the  quays,  admiring  them  and  wishing  I  could 
"take  a  voyage  on  them.  And  that,  by  the  way,  is  one  of 
"the  many  things  I  will  be  able  to  do  when  I  am  a  King  no 
"longer.  There  are  certain  things  a  King  cannot  very  well 
"do,  you  know — and  I  am  afraid  it  would  be  open  to  com- 


<(  ( 


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t 

I 


* 


J 


■m 


72 


The   Gallantry   of   a  King . 


i  ify 


"ment  if  I  traveled  very  much  on  a  'stone  hooker' — ^much 
"as  I  admire  that  species  of  craft.  You  know,  I  do  manage 
"sometimes  to  get  away  for  a  holiday,  and  that  then,  when- 
"ever  I  can  arrange  it,  I  travel  incognito. 

"The  time  I  made  the  journey  on  the  stage  coach  I  was 
"about  to  relate  I  was  traveling  incognito — people  took  me 
"for  a  sheep  rancher  from  the  Blue  Mountains,  and  so  I  will 
"be  one  of  these  days,  my  good  friend." 

"You — a  sheep  rancher,  my  Liege !" 

"Yes,  Ulric;  of  course.      That  has  been  a  happy  'Day 

^ream'  with  me  for  years — a  'Castle  in  the  Air.'  Do  you 
"think  I  could  have  visited  your  mountain  ranch  so  often 
"and  breathed  the  free,  fresh  air  of  your  Blue  Hills" — and 
here  the  eyes  of  both  men  traveled  far  to  the  eastward,  where 
the  faint,  hazy  outline  of  the  Blue  Mountains  rose  between 
sky  and  earth — as  fair  a  picture  as  painter  ever  attempted  to 
portray — "and  not  have  caught  something  of  the  love  you 
"have  for  your  Blue  Mountains  and  their  ozone  breezes? 
"Do  you  think  I  could  have  followed  with  you  the  'sheep 
"runs'  through  the  great  'forest  primeval' — those  beautiful 
"mountain  avenues  and  mountain  glades — without  my  heart 
"being  filled  with  a  love  of  the  beautiful  and  a  desire  to  live, 
"like  you,  the  life  of  a  mountain  farmer?  Do  you  think 
"that  when  I  have  followed  with  you  the  devious  windings 
"of  the  beautiful  mountain  streams  as  they  wended  their  way 
"down  the  hills  and  through  the  valleys  and  amidst  the 
"  'clearings'  on  the  low  lands — the  murmurring  water  rip- 
"pling  gayly  in  the  soft  sunlight  over  the  pebbly  stones  and 
"shining  sand  and  chafing  noisily  when  it  met  any  impedi- 
"ment  in  its  course.  I  have  not  caught  myself  the  influence 
"of  the  sweet  scenery  and  that  my  heart,  '^'ke  yours,  has  not 
"become  attuned  to  nature? 

"So  you  see,  my  friend,  my  mind  looks  forward  with  hap- 
"py  expectation  to  the  time  when,  having  resigned  the  cares 
"which  beset  a  monarch,  I  can — do  as  I  please:  tend  my 
"sheep — go  a-fishing  for  the  rainbow-hued  trout  which  lie 
"waiting  for  their  prey  in  those  Httle  pools  which  you  and  1 
"know  can  be  found  wherever  an  old  log  or  tree  has  fallen 
"across  some  mountain  stream — or  even  once  in  a  while,  for 


The    Gallantry   of   a  King. 


73 


"further  recreation,  take  a  short  voyage  on  a  'stone  hooker.' 

"But,  Ulric,  please  proceed  with  your  explanation  as  to 
"the  presents  and  then  give  me  a  learned  dissertation  con- 
"cerning  the  classic  'stone  hooker.'  You  know  I  like  your 
"learned  dissertations." 

"Well,  my  Liege,  as  to  the  presents :  there  is  not  much  to 
"tell.  I  knew  none  of  the  capitaines  would  take  any  passage 
"money,  so,  whether  I  took  passage  on  a  Tug  or  a  'wood 
"scow'  or  a  'stone  hooker,'  I  tried  to  have  some  little  pres- 
"ent  to  put  in  good  hands.  For  instance,  the  Master  of  the 
"  'Eliza  May' — that  weather-beaten  'old-timer'  you  may  have 
"seen  round  the  docks — used  to  tell  me  sometimes,  as  we 
"smoked  together,  great  yarns  about  his  two  little  girls  at 
"home — 'little  tots,'  you  know,  my  Liege;  I  knew  all  little 
"girls  like  little  dolls  as  well  as  candy,  and  if  I  took  passage 
"on  the  'Eliza  May'  I  would  take  care  that  I  had  a  couple 
"of  pretty  little  dolls,  nicely  dressed,  to  send  to  the  little 
"daughters,  as  well  as  a  couple  of  little  packets  of  mixed 
"candy — say  a  pound  in  each  packet,  my  Liege. 

"The  same  way  with  old  Cap'n  Briggs  of  the  Tug  'Fire 
"Fly' ;  he  had  four  little  girls  home — three  of  his  own  and 
"one  an  adopted  little  lady — and  if  I  'took  ship' — as  the  say- 
"ing  is — on  the  'Fire  Fly'  I  remembered  there  were  four 
"packets  of  candy  to  get  and  four  dolls  to  buy  and  get 
"dresses  and  hats  for. 

"You  see,  my  Liege,  one  gets  used  to  looking  after  such 
"things  after  a  little  practice." 

"Yes,  I  suppose  one  does,"  replied  the  monarch. 

"The  gallant  Cap'n  of  the  'flat  -scow' — or  'wood  scow,'  as 
"they  are  sometimes  called — 'Jemima  Annaleena,'  has  a 
"little  girl  home  and  a  little  boy — and  I  have  always  to  re- 
"member  in  that  case  to  send  along  a  spinning  top  or  a  dozen 
"  'alley  toys'  or  something  which  the  young  gentleman  would 
"not  think  beneath  his  dignity,  when  I  am  sending  to  his 
"sister  a  doll,  prettily  dressed  and  wearing  a  most  becoming 
"hat. 

"Then,  my  Liege,  there  are  the  several  men  working  on  the 
"craft.  I  have  got  to  know  several  of  them — the  mates, 
"and  the  engineers  and  firemen.     And  we  have  many  chats 


74 


The   Gallantry    of   a   King. 


"together  on  our  journeys ;  and  sometimes  it  drops  out  that 
"some  of  them  have  dear  little  'youn&sters'  at  home,  and  so 
"I  try  and  remember  them,  too,  once  in  a  while." 

"But  how  do  you  manage  to  carry  them  all  in  your  head?" 
"I  don't,  my  Liege ;  I  carry  them  in  my  heart  and  in  this 
"little  note  book" — and  here  the  gallant  Sieur  produced  a 
little  note  book  and  proceeded — "You  see,  I  could  not  com- 
"mence  to  remember,  after  an  interval  of  several  months,  all 
"about  the  different  children;  it  would  be  impossible;  one 
"could  not  keep  them  apart.  And,  my  Liege,  sometimes — in 
"fact,  generally — there  is  a  year,  or  nearly  that  length  of 
"time,  between  my  voyages  on  the  Cattawaul — not  between 
"the  up  and  down  trips,  but  between  the  up  trips.  For  in- 
"stance,  if  'the  House'  opens  in  May  I  come  up  by  boat  from 
"Catburg  the  day  or  so  after  the  opening.  The  sittings  last 
"from,  say,  a  month  to  six  weeks,  then  I  go  back  down  the 
"River  to  Catburg.  Now,  you  see,  I  have  the  names  of 
"some  of  the  children  connected  with  two  or  three  of  the 
"craft  on  which  1  have  at  different  times  taken  passage : 

"  'Wood  Scow,  Jemima  Annaleena ;  captain ;  little  girl ; 
little  boy.' 
"  'Stone  Hooker,  Eliza  May.     Captain ;  two  little  girls.' 
"  'Tug,  Fire  Fly.     Captain  Briggs ;  four  little  girls.' 
"You  see,  my  Liege,  in  this  Note  Book  I  have  several  en- 
"tries  of  the  same  nature.     I  really  could  not  remember  the 
"different  children  or  keep  them  apart  but  for  these  little 
"memoranda." 

"That  is  a  first-rate  idea,"  said  the  monarch.  "I  think  1 
"will  start  such  a  Book.  I  remember  once  reading,  when  I 
"was  a  Law  Student  at  Mieauburg  University,  that  Black- 
"stone,  the  great  jurist,  advised  all  Law  Students  to  keep 
"what  I  think  he  called  a  'Commonplace  Book.'  Maybe" 
(this  the  Monarch  said  thoughtfully  and  reflectively)  "this  is 
"the  kind  of  Book  Sir  William  Blackstone,  Knight,  meant." 
"I  wouldn't  be  surprised,  my  Liege,"  answered  the  Sieur; 
"that  is,  if  he  were  a  man  who  loved  children." 

"But,"  continued  the  monarch,  "please  go  on  and  tell  me 
"about  the  Dolls :  where  did  you  buy  them,  and  how  did  you 
"find  a  Doll's  Dressmaker  and  a  Doll's  Milliner  ?     Your  ex- 


;.'^^;.<^^^t^^iK|.^^V|{Ll^ 


The   Gallantry   of   a  King. 


7S 


"perience  in  that  line  amongst  the  fair  modiste  may  have  a 
"touch  of  Romance,  you  know." 

"Well,  my  Liege,  I'll  tell  you  all  about  it :  I  easily  found  a 
"Toy  Store  where  they  sold  Dolls,  and  I  soon  got  on  friendly 
"terms  with  the  very  pretty  and  engaging  and  sweet  demoi- 
"selle  who  presided  at  the  Doll  counter,  and  she  advised  me 
" — kind  of  confidentially — ^and  as  if  it  were  a  'trade  secret' — 
"as  it  were — that  it  was  not  a  good  idea  to  buy  Dolls  already 
"dressed  and  already  hatted.  They  had  in  the  shop  a  large 
"number  of  dolls  entirely  'rigged  out' — so  to  speak — but  she 
"suggested  I  buy  some' plain  dolls  and  take  them  to  some 
"Lady  in  the  Profession  who  would  see  that  they  were  be- 
"comingly  dressed  and  becomingly  hatted,  and  so,  since 
"then,  I  have  always  followed  that  course.  I  am  glad  I 
"have,  because  in  that  way  I  added  to  the  circle  of  my  lady 
"acquaintances  one  of  the  most  loveable  and  charming  young 
"ladies  I  ever  met." 

"You  don't  say  so!"  said  the  monarch. 

"It's  a  fact,  nevertheless,  my  Liege.  The  young  lady  in 
"the  toy  shop  gave  me  a  pretty  little  card.  I  have  it  yet" 
(here  the  gallant  Sieur  looked  in  the  little  card  case  attached 
to  the  note  book  and  brought  out  a  neat  little  card).  "Here 
"it  is.    You  see  it  reads : 

"Mile.  Violette  Carligny, 
"Modiste  aux  Dollies, 
"53  Carnarvon  Square, 
"Catburg  East." 

"But  what  is  the  matter,  my  Liege?  You  look  pained. 
"I  hope  I  have  not  said  anything  to  wound  your  feelings  or 
"to  awaken  sad  recollections." 

But  the  Monarch  did  not  at  once  reply;  he  was  looking 
fixedly  and  in  a  kind  of  dreamy  sort  of  way  at  the  reading  on 
the  little  card  which  he  held  in  his  hand,  and  he  kept  repeat- 
ing to  himself: 

"'Mile.  Violette  Carligny,  Modiste  aux  Dollies.'  Dan 
"this  be  my  lost  Violet — 'my  sweet  Violet'  ?" 

"I  tell  you  what  it  is,  old  man,"  said  the  Sieur :  "I  came 
"pretty  nearly  loosing  my  heart  to  this  same  Mile  Violette ; 


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76 


The    Gallantry   of   a  King . 


¥ 


11 


"in  fact,  I  don't  know  that  I  am  heart-whole  in  the  matter ; 
"but  if  you  have  any  prior  claim,  I  will  at  once — especially 
"seeing  that  you  are  my  friend  and  the  sovereig^n  of  this 
"Realm — resign  in  your  favor  and  relinquish  all  my  right, 
"title,  equity,  claim  and  demand  both  at  law  and  in  equity, 
"and  howsoever,  and  whereas,  and  wherefore,  as  the  lawyers 
"say ;  but  that  is  easy  enough  to  do,  as  I  don't  suppose  I 
"have  any  claim,  either  legal  or  equitable— probably  not  even 
"  'the  ghost  of  a  chance' — as  the  saying  is." 

"Ulric,  please,  please,  please  do  not  joke  about  this  mat- 
"ter.  I  know  you  mean  well.  But  the  very  story  I  was 
"about  to  tell  you  was  about  a  young  lady  named  Violette 
"Carligny." 

"Well,  my  Liege,  if  you  will,  after  all  these  divers  and 
"sundry  digressions,  proceed  with  your  long-deferred  yarn — 
"I  beg  our  Majesty's  pardon — ^I  mean  Romance — perhaps  we 
"may  be  able  between  us  to  get  a  little  light  on  the  "roman- 
"tic  subject.  They  do  say — ^the  oi  polloi  say — you  know,  that 
"  'two  heads  are  better  than  one.'  " 

"Well,  Ulric,  I  left  the  two  officials  of  the  'Flying  Grimal- 
"kin*  a-lounging  before  the  big  fire  and  a-smoking  their 
pipes  and  a-seeing  all  sorts  of  pretty  things  in  the  red  coals — 
"stage-coaches,  and  'Flying  Grimalkins,'  and  what  not,  and 
"I  went  in  to  dinner.  I  was  so  very  hungry  and  I  enjoyed 
"my  meal  very  much.  Then  I  lit  my  pipe  and  sauntered 
"up  to  the  place  where  the  two  worthies  were  still  a-lounging 
"and  a-smoking  and  a-seeing  things  in  the  coals,  and  I  said, 
"  'You  gentlemen  look  so  snug  and  happy.  Can  I  be  per- 
" 'mitted  to  join  the  crowd  and  also  gaze  into  the  coals?' 
"The  two  men  stared  hard  at  me,  as  if  they  thought  that, 
"perhaps,  I  was  quizzing  them  or  making  fun  of  them ;  then 
"seeing  that  I  was  in  earnest,  they  laughed  and  said  they 
"would  be  glad  to  have  my  company.  They,  of  course — as 
well  as  the  people  in  the  big  Hostelry — took  me  for  a  sheep 
rancher  from  the  Blue  Mountains  on  the  way  to  the  Capi- 
tal on  business. 

Well,  I  sat  down  by  the  fire  and  smoked  my  pipe  and 
stared  into  the  red  hot  coals  like  the  other  two  men,  and 
for  several  minutes  none  of  us  said  a  word.     I  do  not  know 


tt 


it 


The   Gallantry   of   a  King. 


77 


f 


w 


"whether  eithei  of  them  would  have  spoken  at  all  if  I  had 
"not  commenced  the  conversation.  I  do  not  suppose  they 
"had  spoken  to  one  another  from  the  time  they  had  sat  down. 
"They  simply  lounged  and  smoked  and  stared  into  the  red- 
"hot  coals  and  saw  in  them  stage-coaches  and  roadside 
"hotels  and  relays  of  horses,  and  hostlers  a-holding  'em  by 
"their  'eds  and  'Flying  Grimalkins'  and  things.  One  pecu-  . 
"liar  thing  you  may  have  noticed  about  the  coachman  and 
"guard  of  a  real  first-class  stage  coach  such  as  the  'Flying 
"Grimalkin'  is,  and  that  is  they  always  seem  to  dress  the 
"same  in  summer  and  winter,  and  always  seem  to  wear  such 
"a  multitude  of  clothes.  I  remember  how  surprised  I  was 
"to  see  these  two  grand  officials  sitting  before  that  hot  fire 
"and  wrapped  up  and  muffled  up  in  a  way  to  'beat  the  band* 
" — as  the  saying  is.  The  number  of  coats  they  had  on  and 
"waistcoats  was  a  'caution  to  cats' — as  the  saying  is.  And 
"the  waistcoats  were  so  pretty  and  gay.  You  may  have 
"noticed  that  real  first-class  coachmen  and  guards  of  real 
"first-class  stage  coacl^es  always  aflfect  scarlet  waistcoats  or 
"waistcoats  having  a  plentiful  supply  of  that  particular 
"color  in  them;  the  material  generally  is  eitner  plush  or 
"velvet  or  velveteen,  or  something  like  that.  Well,  of  course 
"I  wondered  greatly  how  they  could  stand  the  heat,  but  I 
"did  not  think  I  should  say  anything  in  that  direction  for 
"fear  of  being  misunderstood  or  of  wounding  their  feelings, 
"so  I  said  nothing  about  their  apparent  superfluity  of  cloth- 
"ing  and  did  not  appear  to  notice  the  matter. 

"Finally  I  said:  'It's  a  strange  thing,  gentlemen,  how 
"many  things  one  can  see  in  red-hot  coals  if  one  looks  long 
"enough  and  stares  hard  enough.'  They  looked  at  me  hard 
"for  a  minute  so  as  to  be  sure  that  I  was  not  'quizzing'  them, 
"and  then  the  Coachman  says :  'I  always  sees  lots  of  things 
"'in  'em.  Don't  you.  Bill?'  Bill  says,  says  he:  'Right 
"  'you  are,  partner.'  Then  added  Bill,  'I  'ave  a  leetle  girl  at 
"'home  (pronounced  'hum')  who  sees  most'  wonderful 
"  'things  in  the  red-hot  coals.  She  will  sit  before  the  fire 
'between  her  mamma  and  me  and  gaze  into  the  hot  coals 
'until  her  face  is  nearly  as  red  as  the  coals  themselves.  You 
'see  she  is  only  a  little  mite  of  a  thing,  tho*  coming  six 


(<  <t 


"  *. 


78 


The   Gallantry   of   a  King. 


it  ( 


years  old,  and  she  sits  dovn  on  a  tiny  little  stool  and  then 
she  puts  her  little  curly  head  between  her  hands  like  this, 
and  in  that  way  she  would  sit  for  hours,  if  she  could,  look- 
ing into  the  red  hot  coals.  Being  so  little  and  sitting  on 
such  a  low  stool.  She  is  nearer  the  coals  than  we  are,  and 
"  'perhaps  that  is  the  reason  why  she  can  see  more  in  them 
"  'than  we  big  people  can.  She  will  say  to  her  mamma  and 
'"me:  "There,  quick!  Don't  you  see  papa's  coach — (she 
'"always  calls  the  "Flying  Grimalkin"  papa's  coach),  and 
"'it's  just  starting  from  the  White  Torsie  (she  always  calls 
"  'the  "White  Horse"  the  "White  Torsie")  ;  look  at  the  pretty 
"'coach  and  see  all  the  people  in  it — crowds  and  crowds. 
"'And  there's  you,  papa,  and  there's  Mr.  Johnsing  (that's 
"'you,  partner,  of  course),  a-sittin'  in  front  a-drivin'  the 
"  'teams.'  And  so  she  would  go  on  for  hours  it  we  would 
"  'listen  to  her,  I've  no  doubt.  She  really  seems  to  see  all 
"  'the  things  in  the  fire  which  she  tells  us  about.' 

"I  made  a  mental  memo  that  before  the  stage  left  in  the 
"morning  I  would  purchase  a  packet  of  candies  and  send 
"them  with  my  compliments  to  the  little  sight-seer." 

"That  was  right,  my  Liege,"  said  the  Sieur.  If  you  will 
"hand  me  back  my  note  book  I  will  make  a  memo  of  the 
"matter  myself,  so  that  I  can  keep  track  of  the  little  girl." 

"Ha !  ha !  ha !"  laughed  the  merry  monarch.  "Why,  man, 
"this  incident  occurred  some  twenty  years  ago,  and  the  little 
"sight-seer  now  wears  long  dresses  and  probably  dresses  her 
"hair  in  'frizzes'  and  'bangs,'  etc." 

"Oh,  of  course,  I  forgot,"  said  the  Sieur,  laughing  in  his 
turn.  "Will  you  kindly  proceed?  I  really  apologize  for 
"mterrupting  so  often.  I  am  afraid  if  we  keep  on  this  way 
"it  will  be  a  long  while  before  I  hear  your  little  Romance." 
"Well,"  continued  the  King,  "all  the  time  'Bill'  was  tell- 
"ing  us  that  pretty  little  story  about  the  pretty  little  sight- 
"seer  the  coachman  eyed  him  wonderingly.  Finally  when 
"  'Bill'  had  made  an  end  of  his  narration  Mr.  Johnsing  re- 
"marked :  'Wa'all,  Bill,  that  was  the  longest  speech  I  ever 
"  'heard  you  make — 'twas  an  awful  long  speech  from  a  stage 
coach  guard.    First  thing  we  know,  if  you  keep  on,  they'll 


« I 


The    Gallantry   of   a   King. 


79 


her 


:e. 


*(  < 


"  *be  running  you  for  a  "Member  of  tfie  Commons  House" 
"  'next  time  there  is  an  election  in  South  Mieauburg.' 

"Well,  then  we  all  laughed,  and  I  wished  the  jolly  pair  a 
^'good-night  and  retired,  first  asking  them  about  what  time 
"the  'Flying  Grimalkin'  would  start  in  the  morning.  Said 
"the  coachman,  looking  at  'Bill,'  'If  Bill,  here,  is  willing,  we 
*'  'will  pull  out  at  eight  sharp.* 

"Said  'Bill' :  'If  Mr,  Johnsing  is  'greeable,  I  will  blow  my 

first  'alarm'  at  7  :$$  a.  m.  to-morrow.' 

"  'I'll  try  and  be  on  time,'  said  I ;  'but  be  sure  and  do  not 
"  'start  without  me.'  * 

"Well,  we  were  all  up  in  good  time  in  the  morning,  and 
*'^^  7*55  a-  "1-  the  'alarm'  merrily  rung  from  the  guard's 
"bugle,  and  at  eight  a.  m.  we  started  to  walk  towards  Mieau- 
"burg.  I  say  'walk/  and  I  mean  it  literally ;  the  snow  was, 
"oh,  so  deep,  and  our  course  was  really  like  snow-plowing. 
"We  had  to  'make  a  track' — as  the  saying  is — for  ourselves 
"nearly  the  whole  way  from  Catburg  to  Mieauburg.  It  was 
"hard  work  on  the  teams.  They  would  be  pretty  tired 
"when  they  rached  the  'relay  stations,'  I  tell  you.  We 
"changed  teams  every  ten  miles.  It  was  walk,  walk,  walk, 
"the  whole  way,  and  very  slow  progress.  We  were  two  and 
"a  half  days  making  the  journey  which,  under  ordinary  cir- 
"cumstances,  we  would  have  made  in  some  fourteen  hours. 
"But  I  did  not  find  the  time  long  for  the  first  few  miles.  Just 
"after  the  coach  had  started  from  'the  Elephant  and  Castle' 
"on  its  walk  to  Mieauburg,  I  looked  out  of  the  window  and 
"saw  a  young  lady  hurrying  towards  us  and  waving  her 
"hand  towards  the  coach.  I  called  the  attention  of  the  guard 
"to  the  fact  and  the  coach  was  stopped.  The  team  was  glad 
"to  stop,  I  fancy,  at  any  time  on  that  trip,  the  snow  was  so 
"deep.  I  jumped  down  even  before  the  guard  and  helped 
"the  young  lady  into  the  coach.  It  is  a  great  many  years 
"ago,  but  I  will  never  forget  the  pleasure  of  those  few  miles. 
"She  was,  indeed,  beautiful.  Well  was  she  called  'Violet' — 
"her  eyes  were  of  that  lovely  violet  hue  one  sees  in  violets. 
"I  did  not  know  her  name  was  'Violet'  until  just  when  she 
"was  leaving  the  coach.  Then  her  father,  as  he  took  her  in 
"his  arms,  called  her  'Ma  Violette,  sweet  Violet.' " 


/^  ■ 


8o 


The   G  allantry   of   a   King . 


Then  the  Sieur  jumped  from  his  seat,  and  putting  his 
hand  affectionately  on  the  monarch's  shoulder,  said :  "Did 
"I  not  tell  you,  my  Liege,  'two  heads  were  better  than  one'  ? 
"I  believe  we  have  found  her  I" 

The  King  rose  hastily  from  his  easy  chair  "Found  her  I 
"Found  whom  ?    Speak  quick,  Sieur !" 

"Why,  found  your  'sweet  Violet.'  That  is  just  what  her 
"father,  old  Mr.  Carligny,  calls  her  yet:  'Ma  Violette — 
"sweet  violet.' " 

"Why,  who  is  'old  Mr.  Girligny,'  Ulric  ?"  said  the  anxious 
King. 

"Why,  you  impatient  old  fellow,  if  you  will  forgive  a 
"humble  subject  thus  addressing  his  beloved  monarch,  her 
"father — 'sweet  violet's'  father — the  father  of  'Mile  Violette 
"Carligny,  Modiste  aux  Dollies,  53  Carnarvon  Square,  Cat- 
"burg  East,'  in  the  Land  of  the  Grimalkins.  Don't  you 
"look  so  bewildered,  my  Liege.  I  think  I  see  some  daylight 
"on  this  most  abstruse  subject.  I  have  understood  that 
"Mile  Violette  and  her  father  were  away  from  this  part  of 
"the  country  for  years — in  fact,  that  for  years  they  were  liv- 
"ing  on  the  very  borders  of  the  land  in  the  far  westerly  part 
"of  the  Pussandra  District.  Well,  the  probability — at  any 
"rate  the  possibility — is  that  very  soon  after  you  parted  from 
"the  'faire  ladye'  she  and  her  father  departed  for  their  new 
"home  in  the  far  west." 

"I  commence  to  think  you  may  be  right.  Seigneur,"  said 
the  King.  "Now  I  come  to  think  of  it,  both  the  young  lady 
"and  her  father  did  seem  sad  and  pensive,  and  it  probably 
"was  because  they  were  just  about  to  leave  the  part  of  the 
"country  where  they  had  lived  so  long.  Probably  the  young 
"lady  had  been  into  the  town  (Catburg)  arranging  some  de- 
"tails  relative  to  their  journey." 

"Where  did  you  say  they  left  the  coach,  my  Liege?" 

"I  don't  think  I  yet  said.  It  was  at  the  first  stopping 
"place  or  relay-house  this  side  of  Tomlinson's  Landing.  I 
"assisted  the  young  lady  to  alight,  and  as  I  did  so  I  said :  'I 
"  'do  hope  I  may  meet  you  again.'  " 

"What  did  she  say?"  inquired  the  Sieur. 

"She  looked  up  at  me  so  sweetly  and  shyly  with  those 


ii^ 


The   Gallantry   of   a   King . 


8x 


'I 


se 


"beautiful  violet  eyes  as  she  answered,  'I  hope  you  may.' " 

"Then  her  father  hurried  up  and  took  her  in  his  arms  and 
said — I  will  never  forget  the  words:  'Ma  Violette — ^sweet 
'violet.'  Then  she  introduced  me  to  her  father  and  said 
sweetly :  'Papa,  this  gentleman  has  been  so  kind  to  me.* 
I  would  have  liked  to  have  stayed  and  talked  to  them,  of 
course,  for  a  long  while,  but  the  coachman  and  guard  were 
anxious  to  get  along  on  the  road,  and  one  cannot  blame 
them,  seeing  the  roads  were  so  bad  and  the  progress  made 
by  the  'Grimalkin'  could  hardly  fitly  be  described  as  'Fly- 
ing. 

"I  suppose  stage  coaches  never  do  make  a  practice  of  stop- 
ping several  hours  enroute  to  allow  passengers  to  pay  court 
to  faire  ladyes  or  to  serenade  beautiful  eyes,  even  if  they 
are  of  a  violet  hue,"  thoughtfully  remarked  the  Sieur. 

"I  would  have  stayed  right  there,  of  course,  if  I  had  known 
I  was  not  to  see  the  young  ladye  iagain,  and  would  have 
waited  over  for  the  next  coach.  But  I  had  some  publip 
business  to  attend  to  as  soon  as  I  could  reach  the  Capital — 
some  business  connected  with  the  state.  I  said  to  myself, 
however,  that  as  soon  as  I  possibly  could — and  by  the  first 

'down  coach'  after  I  got  through  with  my  business,  I  would 
return  and  seek  out  my  fair  companion  and  her  father.  I 
did  not  have  much  time  to  think  the  matter  over,  at  all 
events.  The  coachman  was  looking  anxiously  at  Bill, 
and  the  latter  was  looking  dubiously  at  rne.  He 
had  already  sounded  his  'alarm.'  At  these  'relay  stations,' 
especially  when  they  are  in  a  hurry,  or  behind  time,  they 
do  not  wait  longer,  as  a  rule,  than  simply  to  change  horses.. 
This  maneuvre  generally  is  effected  very  quickly,  you 
know,  as  the  hostlers  and  stable  men  are  on  the  lookout 
for  the  incoming  coach,  and  the  new  horses  are  all  ready 
to  be  attached  to  the  coach  as  it  dashes  up  to  the  relay  sta- 
tion. Of  course  we  did  not  dash  up  on  that  occasion ;  we 
demurely  walked  up. 

"Well,  I  said  'good-bye'  and  shook  hands  two  or  three 
times  with  the  young  lady  and  her  courteous  father.  Then 
I  jumped  in  the  coach,  followed  by  the  impatient  'Bill,'  and 
we  walked  away  again  on  our  journey  towards  the  Capital. 


6 


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82 


The   Gallantry    of  a   King. 


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u 


"You  may  be  sure  I  looked  out  of  the  window  and  watched 
"the  lady  and  her  father  as  long  as  I  could,  but  a  turn  in  the 
"road  soon  came  and  hid  them  from  view.  I  remember  also 
"how  sorry  I  was  that,  owing  to  the  drifting  snow,  it  was 
"difficult  to  see  out  of  the  coach  window.  Inside  of  four 
"days  I  returned  to  the  same  'relay  station'  and  spent  two  or 
"three  days  trying  to  find  my  new-found  friends,  but  all  in 
"vain.  Need  I  say,  Sieur,  that  ever  since  the  hour  I  first 
"saw  her  I  have  retained  in  my  heart  the  memory  of  those 
"beautiful  violet  eyes  and  that  sweet  smile,  and  that  through 
"all  these  years  there  have  lingered  in  my  ears  those  words — 
"so  softly,  shyly  and  sweetly  said — 'I  hope  you  may,'  and 
"  'Papa,  this  gentleman  has  been  so  kind  to  me.'  " 

"My  Liege,  yo'i  should  have  been  a  Poet  or  a  Writer  of 
"Novels  and  Roii^ances.  This  little  Romance  of  yours — in 
"fact,  this  little  Prose-Poem  which  you  have  been  narrating 
"or  reciting — is  really  delightful,  But,  all  joking  apart, 
"your  Majesty,  I  am  very  hopeful  that  now,  after  all  these 
"years,  you  are  in  a  fair  way  again  to  meet  *Ma  Violette — 
"  'sweet  violet.'  I'll  tell  you  what  to  do:  Put  on  that  very 
"romantic-looking  sheep-ranching  costume  of  yours — that 
"very  becoming  dress  you  wear,  you  know,  when  you  travel 
'incognito — as  the  saying  is ;  then  journey  down  either  by 
"water  or  road  to  Catburg  and  call  at  53  Carnarvon.  Square, 
"Catburg  East.  Of  course  you  should  have  some  reason- 
"ab!e  excuse  for  calling :  you  should  follow  my  example  and 
"visit  the  faire  modiste  on  professional  business ;  in  other 
"words,  my  Liege,  you  should  ask  her  kindly — in  her  profes- 
"sional  capacity — to  habit  and  be-hat  two  or  three  Dollies 
"for  you." 

"Two  or  three  Dollies — for  me!"  repeated  the  Monarch. 

"Why,  yes,  my  Liege.  Ah,  I  see  you  don't  know  any- 
"thing  about  'Dollies.'  Well,  I'll  tell  you — in  strict  confi- 
"dence — I  did  not  know  much  about  them  myself  until  I 
"commenced  to  buy  them  to  give  to  'the  youngsters.'  Since 
"then  I  have  been  gradually  increasing  my  knowledge. 
"Lately — in  fact,  during  this  present  session  of  the  House 
"of  Parliament-  1  have  been  making  rather  rapid  progress. 
"The  way  it  was,  was  this :     You  know  both  houses  have 


The   Gallantry   of_  a  King. 


83 


lies 


11 


"been  sitting  late  this  session,  listening  to  long-winded, 
"awfully  tiresome  speeches  about  all  sorts  of  'Election  Clap- 
"trap,'  as  it  is  fitly  called.  You  know  what  I  mean,  my 
"Liege ;  you  surely  have  read  in  the  newspapers  something 
"concerning 

"  The  Great  Kettlekittle  Bridge  Job.' 

"Well,  I  felt  I  could  not  stand  the  late  hours  except  I  had 
"a  good  walk  before  dinner.  So  Machelle  and  I  have  for 
"some  days  been  taking  a  nice  little  walk  every  evening  along 
"Bay  street.  You  know  the  street  I  mean,  my  Liege,  the 
"pretty  street  which  is  built  along  the  west  bank  of  the  Cat- 
"tawaul.  For  several  reasons  it  is  a  beautiful  walk:  one 
"sees  the  beautiful  blue  waters  of  the  classic  Cattawaul  and 
"the  shipping  on  the  River,  including,  my  Liege,  the  pictur- 
"esque  'wood-scow'  and  the  romantic  'stone-hooker;'  then 
"one  sees  in  the  far  east  the  dim  outline  of  the  beautiful  Blue 
"Mountains — we  three — you  and  Maohelle  and  I — each  love 
"so  well,  and  where,  I  rather  think,  we  each  would  fain  be 
"this  minute.  Or  rather,  my  Liege,  I  should  confine  and 
"limit  that  last  remark  to  Machelle  and  myself.  As  far  as 
"your  Majesty  is  concerned,  I  presume  you  would  ra  ler  be 
"at  No.  53  Carnarvon  Square,  Catburg  East." 

"Precisely,"  said  the  Monarch,  with  a  smile.  "You  are 
"quite  a  shrewd  guesser,  Le  Sieur  D'Ulric." 

"Well,  to  continue  my  j-emarks,"  said  the  Sieur,  "there  are 
"so  many  dear  little  children  living  along  that  street,  and 
"Machelle  and  I  have,  within  the  last  few  days,  increased  to 
"a  consiLicrable  extent  the  'circle  of  our  acquaintance' — as 
"the  saying  is.  We  generally  carry  along  with  us  a  few 
"extra  yens*  and  some  candies.  Sometimes  in  the  course  of 
"conversation  with  some  little  lady  we  learn  that  she  has  not 
"a  doll,  and  then  we  generally  try  and  supply  the  deficiency. 
"Of  course  as  we  do  not  know  any  young  lady  of  the  Pro- 
"fession  of  Les  Modistes  aux  Dollies  practicing  that  Pro- 
"fession  in  this,  your  Capital  City,  my  Liege,  we  have  had  to 

•The  "yen"  Is  apparently   the   current   coin   of   "The  Land   of   the 
Grimalkins,  "    and,  aa   stal«*d   In   the    third    volume   of   these    "Foolish 
Talfes,"  Is  apparently   worth   about    four  cents  of  Canadian   or  U.    S. 
money,  or  about  two  pence  ("tuppence")  English  money.— Translator. 


Wipppiip^j--- •■'  '^ 


s- 


U 


84 


7/1^    G allantry    of   a   King. 


I- 


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content  ourselves  with  Dollies  already  dressed  and  be- 
hatted  at  the  time  of  purchase.  Of  course  with  the  experi- 
ence I  have  had,  I  know  that  these  ready-made  costumes 
and  hats  are  not  nearly  as  serviceable  or  as  becoming  as  if 
we  could  have  them  prepared  to  order  by  some  Modiste  aux 
Dollies,  but,  then,  we  can  only  do  our  best.  Now,  my 
Liege,  if  you  will  take  a  walk  along  Bay  street  this  evening 
with  Machelle  and  myself,  we  will  give  you  your  first  lesson 
in  the  DoUie  business.  You  can  go  downtown  in  the  mean- 
time, if  you  kindly  will,  and  purchase  two  or  three  Dollies 
at  some  Toy  Store  and  some  good  Candies  of  the  variety  of 
'mixed'  at  some  Confectioner's,  and  kindly  bring  along, 
my  Liege,  a  few  spare  yens.  You,  of  course,  must  put  on 
your  usual  incognito  disguise ;  it  would  not,  perhaps,  be  as 
well  if  the  one  who  gave  away  the  yens  were  known  to  be 
the  very  'Grimalkin  the  First,'  whose  picture  or  medallion 
appears  on  one  of  the  sides  of  the  yen.  By  the  way,  your 
Majesty,  why  don't  you  'haul  over  the  coals' — as  the  say- 
ing is — the  one.  whoever  it  is,  who  is  to  blame  in  the  mat- 
ter of  that  same  picture  or  medallion  ?  It  is  really  as  bad 
as  a  Patent  Medicine  Advertisement  Photograph.  The 
photograph  really  does  not  'flatter'  you,  my  Liege.  The 
fact  is,  no  one  who  knows  you,  as  I  do,  could  tell  you  or 
recognize  you  from  your  photograph  on  the  current  yens 
of  the  realm.  In  fact,  I,  for  one,  would  not  particularly 
want  to  know  such  a  man  as  the  one  whose  'fysiog' — as  the 
saying  is — appears  on  the  yens  of  this  realm ;  he  is  really 
hardly  the  man  one  would  care  particularly  to  know.  I 
just  mention  this  matter  to  you  in  a  friendly  way,  your 
Majesty,  not  only  for  your  own  sake,  but  also  in  order  to 
unburden  my  mind.  But,  after  all,  perhaps,  it  does  not 
much  matter,  as  far  as  you  personally  are  concerned,  if 
'Grimalkin  the  First'  is  going  to  step  down  both  from  off 
the  Throne  of  the  Land  of  the  Grimalkins  and  from  off  its 
'yens.'  Ikit  I  do  hope  that  if  a  Queen  comes  to  the  Throne 
that  steps  will  be  taken  to  the  end  that  when  she  appears 
on  our  yens  she  may  look  'real  pretty'— as  the  girls  say." 

"Oh,  D'Ulric,  you  are  an  incorrigible  joker!     Why  don't 
"you  bring  the  matter  up  in  the  House  of  Sieurs?       The 


The   Gallantry   of   a  King. 


85 


The 


n't 
he 


"learned  and  venerable  Sieurs  might  take  in  good  part  a  joke 
"coming  from  you,  whereas  they  would  not  take  it  nearly 
"as  well  if  it  came  from  anyone  else." 

"Thanks  for  the  suggestion,  my  Liege.  I  may  take  the 
"matter  up  some  time  in  the  future  when  I  have  the  time  to 
"spare.  At  present  I  will  have  my  'hands  full' — as  the  say- 
"ing  is — if  I  have  to  go  on  a  Queen-hunting  expedition.  Do 
"you  know,  my  Liege,  I  am  commencing  to  like  the  idea  a 
"little  better  than  I  did  when  first  you  suggested  it  to  me. 
"The  undertaking  seems  a  romantic  one — and  then  who 
"knows"  (this  with  a  gay  laugh)  "but  that  in  finding  a 
"Queen  for  the  fair  Land  of  the  Grimalkins  I  may  also  find 
" — perhaps  even  in  one  and  the  same  person — the  Queen  of 
"my  own  heart  and  the  Queen  of  my  own  Household  ?" 

Then  the  joker  added  reflectively,  speaking  half  to  himself 
and  half  to  the  King:  "I  wonder  if  such  a  thing  occurred 
"that  I  really  were  to  'lay  siege' — ^as  it  were — to  the  heart 
"of  the  Fair  Ladye  whom  I  was  instrumental  in  leading  to 
"the  Throne  of  the  Grimalkins?  Would  or  could  possibly 
"such  an  act  be  construed  as  Treason  or  misprision  of  Trea- 
"son,  as  the  Lawyers  call  it?" 

Then  the  Monarch  laughed  heartily  and  the  Sieur  could 
not  help  'joining  ia' 

Machelle  then  was  announced,  and  the  Sieur  said :  "My 
"Liege,  this  is  the  famous  sessional  writer,  and  our  particu- 
"lar  friend." 

The  genial  Monarch  cordially  welcomed  the  Parliamen- 
tary 'quill-driver'  and  said,  "How  do  you  feel  after  your  ar- 
"duous  duties,  friend  Machelle  ?" 

"Oh,  I  feel  so  tired,  your  Majesty ;  in  fact,  'done  out' — 
"as  the  saying  is"  answered  the  writer  as  he  sunk  into  the 
easy  chair  his  Royal  friend  pointed  out. 

"Why,  what's  the  matter,  Machelle?"  asked  the  Sieur. 
"Have  you  had  to  write  those  horrible  words  many  times 
"during this  last  session?" 

"What  'horrible  words'?"  asked  the  King. 

"  'The  Kettlekittle  Bridge  Job' !  my  Liege,"  answered  the 
Sessic  .lal  Writer.  "I  have  written  those  words  so  often  this 
"morning  that  I  really  know  them  by  heart — 'like  a  Parrot* 


'  ^'-M'W'iJI'^.lllf .#l!«WP'l'!!SfiWW^ 


86 


It 


The   Gallantry   of  a  King , 


Mi- 


If  1 


" — as  the  saying  is :  'the  Great  Kettlekittle  Bridge  Job' !  I 
"do  wish  the  Legislators  would  go  to  sleep  and  forget  all 
"about  those  words — forget  how  to  roll  them  out  so  'pat' — 
"as  it  were." 

"Well,  Machelle,  His  Majesty  has  come  to  the  conclusion 
"that  the  country  has  heard  those  words  too  often  lately, 
"and  he  has  decided  to  give  the  members  of  the  two  Houses, 
"and  also  his  loyal  and  liege  subjects  generally  a  sensation> 
"so  that  they  will  have  something  else  to  talk  about,  write 
"about,  read  about,  think  about,  dream  about — something 
"other  than  those  horrible  words  which  you  have  so  glibly — 
"at  is  were — repeated." 

"  'A  sensation' ! !"  repeated  the  Sessional  Writer. 

"Yes.  Hereafter — that  is,  for  a  short  while,  at  all  events 
" — because,  by  the  way,  the  'sensation'  involves  the  tempor- 
"ary  cessation  of  your  official  duties  as  a  sessional  writer  irt 
"the  House  of  Sieurs.  Hereafter  you  may  for  a  short  while 
"write  on  your  sessional  papers  and  in  your  sessional  books 
"the  startling  words : 

"'The  King  Resigns;  Long  Live  the  Queen/" 

"What  do  you  mean?"  exclaimed  Machelle.  Then  turn- 
ing to  His  Majesty,  he  said :  "My  Liege,  our  friend  is  such 
"a  jokv  '  one  never  knows  when  or  how  to  take  him  seri- 
"ously.'^ 

"He  is  serious  now,  liowever,  Machelle,"  said  the  King, 
with  a  smile. 

Then  Ulric  continued:  "The  Daily  Papers  to-morrow 
"and  the  Weekly  Papers  v;hen  they  come  out  will  not  as 
"usual  have  room  for  the  insertion  in  big  head-lines  of  those 
"horrible  words  which  you  have  lately  uttered,  but  instead 
"they  will  show  in  large,  lurid — so  to  speak — characters  the 
"startling  words :  ' 

"'Resignation  of  His  Majesty  King  Grimalkin  the  First! 
"'The  King  Resigns;  Long  Live  the  Queen!'" 

"What  do  you  mean,  Ulric?"  asked  the  astonished  Ses- 
sional Writer.  "Please  do  not  speak  further  in  Riddles.  I 
"am  rather  weak  to~day,  having  had  to  write  the  horrible 
"words  aforesaid  so  many  times  lately ;  in  fact,  my  'symp- 


The    Gallantry   of   a  King. 


87 


"  'torns'  do  not  'sagatiate'*  very  well  this  morning.    Kindly 
"unravel  the  Riddle." 

"Well,  Machelle,  the  solemn  fact  is  that  our  friend,  this 
"gay  Monarch,  is  about  to  come  down  from  off  the  Throne 
"of  the  Grimalkins  and  from  off  the  yens  of  the  realm. 
"Henceforth  you  may  write  in  that  'fair,  round  hand'  of 
"yours  in  your  Sessional  Papers  and  in  your  Sessional  Books 

"  'Sic  Transit  Grimalkimis  Primus' !" 


"Is  His  Majesty  really  going  to  resign  his  Crown?"  asked 
the  astonished  Machelle. 

"Yes;  no  doubt  about  it.  The  fact  is  he  has  sat  on  the 
"verandah  so  much  lately — that  big  verandah  which  faces 
"the  glorious  East — ^and  he  has  looked  so  long  and  so  long- 
"ingly  at  the  dim,  blue  outline  of  the  so-distant  Blue  Moun- 
"tains  that  he  felt  he  could  not  stand  it  any  longer,  and  he 
"decided  to  resign  and  to  come  and  be  one  of  us,  Machlle. 
"In  fact,  a  jolly  sheep  rancher  on  the  Blue  Mountains.". 

"A  Sheep  Rancher  on  the  Blue  Mountains !" 

"Yes!  Why  not?"  asked  the  Monarch.  "Would  you 
"not  like  to  have  me  as  a  neighbor?  Don't  you  think  I 
"would  make  a  good  citizen  of  your  mountain  community  ?" 

"Why,  yes !  Of  course,  your  Majesty !  But  it  is  so  sud- 
"den,  you  know,"  said  Machelle. 

"Now,  Mr.  Sessional  Writer,  please  don't  be  a  girl?"  said 
Ulric. 

"  'A  girl'?"  repeated  Machelle. 

"Yes.  It  is  only  girls  who  are  allowed  to  say,  'It  is  so 
"sudden,  you  know." 

"I  guess  you  are  right  there,"  said  His  Majesty.  "But 
"please  go  on  and  explain  to  the  bewildered  Sessional 
"Writer  why  my  Resignation  involves  the  temporary  resig- 
"nation  of  his  official  position  as  a  writer  in  the  noble  House 
"of  Sieurs /' 

"Why,  yes.  Probably  you  might  as  well.  I  cannot  be 
"astonished  any  more,  I  guess,"  said  Machelle. 

"Well,  my   muchly-astonished  friend  and  comrade,    the 


•I  think  T  have  seen    the    words   In    italics   In    "Uncle   Remus- 
songs  and  sayings."— (Joel  Chandler  Harris,  Translator.) 


-His 


PILPI^pJIlillilllipppp^ 


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W. 


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88 


The    Gallantry   of    a   King . 


"facts  are  simply  these,  or  thusly :  I  will  try  and  put  them 
"as  shortly  and  briefly  as  possible.  In  fact,  if  it  is  possible, 
"I  will  try  and  put  them  in  the  shape  of  a  syllogism : 

"The  King  resigns  and  vacates  his  Throne  in  favour  of  a  Queen 
"To  be  found  and  led  to  the  Throne  by  you  and  me. 

"Now,  I  have  put  the  proposition  so  simply  and  clearly 
"anyone  could  understand  it  at  a  glance ;  a  child  could.  Don't 
"be  obtuse,  Machelle;  don't  look  so  obtuse.  I  will  repeat 
"the  syllogism  again,  this  time  very  slowly,  clearly  and  dis- 
"tinctly : 

"The — King — resigns — and — vacates — his — Throne — in — favour  — of 
" — a — Queen — to — be — found  — and — led — to — the— Thr.)ne— by— you 
"—and— me." 

"Well !  I  never !"  ejaculated  Machelle. 

"But  you  must  not  say  that,"  solemnly  said  the  Sieur. 

"Say  what?"  asked  Machelle. 

"  'Well !  I  never !'  "  answered  Ulric— "don't  be  a  girl— 
"only  girls  say  'Well!  I  never!'  But  I  will  not  joke  any 
"more;  the  matter  is  too  serious  to  be  a  joking  matter.  The 
"fact  simply  is  that  His  Majesty  is  going  to  couple  with  his 
"Resignation  a  suggestion  to  the  Gentlemen  Commoners  of 
"the  Lower  Ho-  and  to  the  noble  Sieurs  of  the  Upper 
"House  thuL  they  )ass  at  once  an  Act  of  Parliament  ap- 
"pointing  you  an*,  me  Ministers  Plenipotentiary  so  to  speak 
"with  full  power  to  search  through  the  big  ^vorld  which  lies 
"outside  the  limits  of  the  fair  Land  of  the  Grimalkins  for  a 
"faire  Queen — or  a  Fairie  Queen  for  that  matter  if  pre- 
"f erred — and  having  found  her  to  offer  her  the  vacant 
"Throne  and  the  vacant  Crown  and  the  vacant  place  on  the 
"Yens  of  the  realm  and  the  vacant  place  on  the  postage 
"stamps  of  the  Land.  If  the  faire  Ladye  accepts,  then  we 
"are  to  lead  her  to  the  Throne  amidst  the  plaudits  of  a 
"happy  people.  There,  have  I,  my  friend,  made  the  matter 
"any  clearer  to  your  comprehension — somewhat  obtuse,  per- 
"haps — the  latter  words  of  course  being  spoken  'strictly  in 
"a  Pickwickian  sense'  ?" 

"I  think  I  am  commencing  to  understand  the  matter  a  lit- 
"tle,"  said  Machelle     "But  is  the  understanding  that  we  are 


The   Gallantry   of   a  King 


89 


"to  go  outside  the  Realm f  Is  that  imperative?  There  are 
"hundreds — probably  thousands — of  uncrowned  Queens — 
"faire  Princesses — within  the  limits  of  this  fair  Land." 

"So  I  have  already  tried  to  explain  to  His  Majesty" — 
my  gallant  friend — "but  he  is  inexorable,  and,  after  all,  his 
"reasons,  which  doubtless  he  will  give  to  the  Houses  of 
"Parliament  this  evening,  are  very  reasonable — as  all  reas- 
"ons  should  be — ^in  fact,  they  are  lucid  and  convincing. 
"Now,  my  friend,  I  must  say  that  first  when  the  project 
"was  mentioned  I  was  rather  dubious  and  did  not  altogether 
"like  it ;  but  the  more  I  think  about  it  the  more  I  like  it ;  in 
"fact  it  improves  on  acquaintance,  so  to  speak ;  it  will  be  an 
"Adventure!  you  and  I  like  'Adventures';  it  will  be  Roman- 
"tic!  you  and  I  like  'Romances';  and  then  fancy  our  Dig- 
"nity — our  official  position !  we  will  be 

"Ministers  Plenipotentiary!  think  of  that,  Machelle;  we 
"will  be 

"Ambassadors  Extraordinary!  think  of  that,  my  friend! 

"And  then  another  thought  has  lately  come  to  me,"  con- 
tinued the  Sieur,  speaking  reflectively  and  kind  of  half  to 
himself ;  "we  all  have  read  of  the  famous  Earl  of  Warwick, 
"the  'King  Maker,'  in  early  English  Days ;  you  and  I  will  be 
"Queen  makers!  Just  think  of  it,  Machelle!  What  a  proud 
"position  to  occupy  in  the  History  of  one's  country,  my 
"friend  from  the  Blue  Mountains ! 

"Just  think  of  it,"  continued  the  eloquent  Sieur ;  "in  after 

"days,  aye,  even  in  the  dim  and  distant  future,  the  rising 

"generations — 

"  'creeping  like  snail 

"  'Unwillingly  to  school.* 

"—the  little  school  held  in  'the  little  Red  School  House' 
"which  those  tiresome  politicians  talk  about  so  much,  Ma- 
"chelle — will  read  in  their  'Primers'  and  'Histories'  the 
"  'Story  of  the  Queen-Mpkers' !  We  will  live,  my  friend, 
"in  the  hearts  and  in  tie  memories  of  our  countrymen! 
"What  say  you,  Machelle,  If  you  are  offered  the  position  of 
"a  joint  Minister  Plenipotentiary— a  joint  Ambassador  Ex- 
"traordinary — will  you  accept  the  position?" 

•"As  you  like  It."— William  Shakespeare,  Act  II.,  Scene  VII. 


90 


The    Gallantry    of   a   King. 


"1  will  follow  you  anywhere,  comrade,"  said  the  gallant 
Machelle,  rising  and  taking  the  outstretched  hand  of  the 
Sieur. 

"Well,  that  little  matter  is  so  far  arranged,"  said  the  Sieur. 
"Now,  there  is  another  little  thing  I  should  mention :  the 
"King  is  going  to  accompany  us  this  afternoon  on  our  ante- 
"dinner  walk  along  Bay  street.  I  want  to  introduce  him  to 
"some  of  our  little  acquaintances,  and  I  am  glad  he  is  going 
"to  make  their  acquaintance,  so  that  when  you  and  I  are 
"away  he  can  once  in  a  while  walk  along  the  street  and  keep 
"up  the  friendship.  And  we  may  be  going  away  very  soon, 
"my  friend ;  I  am  one  of  those  fellows  who  do  not  believe  in 
"letting  'the  grass  grow  under  their  feet.'  If  I  received  the 
"appointment  to-night  I  would  probably  feel  like  starting 
"out  on  the  search  for  a  Queen  to-morrow." 

"And  I  also,"  said  Machelle. 

"I  knew  you  would,  Comrade,"  replied  the  Sieur.  "Now, 
"if  our  Royal  Friend  will  hurry  away  and  put  on  his 
"incognito  disguise  of  a  Sheep  Rancher  from  the  far-off 
"Blue  Mountains,  we  will  acompany  him  down  town  and 
"show  him  where  he  can  buy  two  or  three  'Dollies'  and  also 
"where  he  can  lay  in  a  small  supply  of  'Candies' — and  then 
"we  will  be  'rigged  out' — as  the  saying  is — for  our  walk 
"along  Bay  street  to  see  'the  Babies  round  the  Block' — as 
"the  song  says." 

"I'll  make  a  suggestion,"^  said  Machelle.  "Let  us  intro- 
"duce  our  Royal  Friend  to  some  of  the  youngsters  as  'Santa 
"  'Claus.'  Of  course  this  is  June  and  'Santa  Claus,'  as  a  rule, 
"does  not  come  to  the  Land  until  Christmas  time — but  we 
"can  say  he  is  just  taking  a  little  holiday.  It  will  be  a  nice 
"little  joke — and  it  will  amuse  the  youngsters  anyway." 

In  about  an  hour  afterwards  three  gentlemen  lazily  saun- 
tered aloog  Bay  street — sometimes  stopping  to  admire  the 
romantic  profile  of  a  "wood  scow  barge"  or  of  a  "stone 
hooker,"  as  the  weather-beaten  craft  wended  their  way  up 
01  down  the  classic  Cattawaul ;  sometimes  stopping  to  gaze 
lovingly  at  the  dim,  faint  outline  of  the  Blue  Mountains 
stretching  away  in  the  far  east,  like  the  beautiful  back- 
ground of  a  beautiful  picture ;  sometimes  they  would  even 


The    G  all  an  try    of   a   King . 


91 


^-> 


think  they  could  detect  the  faint  outline  of  smoke  rising 
lazily  up  to  the  sky  from  some  new  settler's  "logging"  or 
"summer  fallow,"  and  then  they  could  even  imagine  they 
inhaled  the  fragrance  so  dear  to  everyone  who  loves  the  wild 
woods — the  smell  of  the  burning  brush  heaps  and  fire- 
brands; sometimes  stopping  to  talk  confidentially  to  some 
dear  little  prattler — one  of  "the  youngsters"  with  whom  the 
Sieur  and  Machelle  had  lately  become  acquainted. 

Several  fathers  and  mothers  were  surprised  to  hear  within 
the  next  day  or  two  that  "Santa  Claus"  had  really  been  in 
town  and  had  actually  walked  along  Bay  street  within  a 
short  time  past.  The  could  be  no  doubt  at  all  about  the 
matter — at  any  rate  there  surely  could  be  no  reasonable 
room  for  doubt.  The  very  pleasant  strange  gentleman  had 
been  formally  introduced  as  "Santa  Claus";  it  was  stated 
and  explained  that  he  was  simply  taking  a  little  holiday  or 
recreation ;  and,  in  order  "to  keep  his  hand  in" — as  the  say- 
ing is — or  from  the  force  of  habit — he  carried  with  hirn  a 
few  "odds  and  ends"  of  children's  presents — loose  in  his 
big  pockets;  there  surely  could  not  be  any  doubt  about  the 
matter.  Here — as  an  "argumentunK  ad  hominem,"  as  the 
Logicians  say — were  alley-taus  for  little  boys,  and  little 
packets  of  "mixed  candies"  for  little  girls  and  little  boys,  too 
— and  pretty  little  dolls  with  blue  eyes  and  flaxen  curls  for 
the  young  ladies.  And  it  was  rumoured  amongst  "the 
youngsters"  on  the  street  that  "Santa  Claus"  had  been  rather 
liberal  on  the  particular  evening  in  question  in  the  matter  of 
"yens." 

But  if  the  children  enjoyed  the  fun  "it  goes  without  say- 
ing" that  the  three  "grown  up"  men  also  enjoyed  it,  and  in 
after  days  they  often  laughed  heartily  over  the  huge  amount 
of  pleasure  which  was  crowded  info  thooc  few  minutes  dur- 
ing which,  in  the  "leafy  month  of  June,"  they  helped  to  per- 
form on  Bay  street  in  the  Capital  City  a  Christmas  Panto- 
mime— in  fact,  a  Children's  Matinee. 

Well,  we  will  now  go  back  to  the  moment  when  the  rap, 
tap,  rap  came  on  the  door  of  the  Commons  House  of  Parlia- 
ment. 

"Mr.   Sergeant-at-Arms,"   said   Mr.   Speaker,   "will  you 


lipilliilplillimliil^ 


92 


The   Gallantry    of   a   Ki  n  g . 


"kindly  ascertain  the  cause  of  the  alarm  thus  given  at  our 
"Chamber  Door." 

Then  the  Sergeant-at-Arms  solemnly  proceeded  to  the 
Chamber  Door,  and  on  opening  the  little  slide  or  wicket  in 
the  door,  saw  Mr.  Black  Rod,  of  the  Upp>er  House,  stand-? 
ing  demurely  outside.  The  Sergeant  of  the  Lower  House 
then  gravely  said  to  Mr.  Black  Rod,  "Pardon  me,  until  1 
"duly  report  your  visit  to  Mr.  Speaker."  Then  he  shut  the 
wicket,  and  proceeding  to  the  space  in  front  of  the  Speaker, 
and  in  fact  standing  in  front  t)f  the  little  table  on  which 
solemnly  lay  the  mace,  he  gravely  saluted  Mr.  Speaker  and 
said:  "Mr.  Speaker!  Without  the  Chamber  Door  of  this 
"House  of  Gentlemen  Commoners  of  the  Land  of  the 
"Grimalkins  stands  Mr.  Black  Rod,  of  the  noble  House  of 
"Sieurs !" 

"Admit  him  in  due  form,"  said  Mr.  Speaker.  Then  he — 
Mr.  Speaker — rapped  solemnly  six  times  with  his  little  ebony 
gavel  of  office  on  the  little  desk  before  him,  and  all  the 
Gentlemen  Commoners  rose  and  stood  on  their  feet.  Mean- 
while the  Sergeant-at-Arms  solemnly  took  up  the  mace  from 
the  table  where  it  had  been  quietly  resting  since  the  opening 
day  of  the  present  Session,  and  bearing  the  mace  aloft  in  his 
hands  before  him,  solemnly  stalked  to  the  Door  of  the 
Chamber,  which  he  flung  wide  open — at  the  same  time  mak- 
ing a  respectful  obeisance  to  Mr.  Black  Rod  and  saying  re- 
spectfully :"Mr.  Black  Rod,  by  command  of  the  Honourable 
"the  Speaker  of  this  House  of  Gentlemen  Commoners  of  the 
"Land  of  the  Grimalkins,  you  are  permitted  to  enter  this 
"Chamber.     Please  follow  me." 

Then  the  Sergeant-at-Arms  commenced  to  walk  backward 
— ever  and  anon  looking  wistfully  behind  him  to  see  that  he 
did  not  trip  over  anything  in  his  backward  journey — and,  of 
course,  still  bearing  aloft  the  mace  in  his  hand  as  if  it  were  a 
protection  between  him  and  Mr.  Black  Rod,  of  the  Upper 
House.  Thus  escorted,  the  latter  gentleman  in  due  course 
reached  the  open  space  in  front  of  the  Speaker's  Dais. 

Then  the  Speaker  solemnly  arose,  and  bowing  to  Mr. 
Black  Rod,  said :    "Mr.  Black  Rod !    Have  you  any  message 


The   Gallantry   of   a  King. 


93 


*'from  the  noble  Sieurs  of  the  Upper  House  to  the  Gentle- 
"men  Commoners  of  the  Lx)wer  House?" 

Then  Mr.  BJack  Rod  bowed  to  Miv Speaker  of  the  Com- 
mons House  and  gravely  answered:  "I  am  requested  by 
•'the  Honourable  the  Sieur  Chancellor  to  invite  the  Honour- 
"able  the  Gentlemen  Commoners  of  the  Lower  House  with 
"their  Speaker  and  their  mace,  to  attend  upon  the  noble 
"Sieurs  of  the  Upper  House  in  their  Hall  of  Assembly." 

Then  he  gravely  bowed  to  Mr.  Speaker,  and  turning  to 
the  Government  members  standing  to   the    Right   of    Mr. 
Speaker,  bowed  gravely  to  them,  and  then  turning  to  the 
opposition  members  standing  to  the  Left  of  Mr.  Speaker, 
bowed  gravely  to  them — then  he    bowed    gravely    to    the 
Sergeant-at-Arms  of  the  Lower  House — and  then  he  com- 
menced to  retreat  out  of  the  room,  walking  backwards  and 
solemnly  eyeing  the  mace,  which,  in  the  hands  of  the  Ser- 
geant-at-Arms, followed  his  backward  prbgress.     Next  in 
order,  after  the  Sergeant-at-Arms  with  the  mace,  came  Mr. 
Speaker — then  the  members  of  the  Cabinet — then  the  Grov- 
ernment  members,  two  and  two — then  the  opposition  mem- 
bers, two  and  two — then  the  Sessional  Writers,  two  and 
two — then  the  Pages,  two  and  two— and  in  this  way  the 
solemn  procession  wended  its  way  through  the  big  Hall  or 
vestibule  outside  the  Commons    Chamber    and    along   the 
several  passages  leading  between  the  Sieurs'  House  and  the 
Commons'   House.     On   reaching  the   former  House,   the 
Door  was  found  to  be  not  a  Door  but  a  Jar — as  the  saying 
is — and  entering  the  Chamber  of  the  noble  Sieurs,  the  pro- 
cession wended  its  way  to  the  open  space  in  front  of  the 
big  raised  platform  or  Dais  on  which  was   not  only  the 
Throne  of  the  King  of  the  Grimalkins  -but — situated  a  little 
lower  down — ?lso  the  Chair  of  His  Excellency  the  Sieur 
Chancellor.    I  should  have  said  that  ever  and  anon  through- 
out his  long  backward  journey,  Mr.  Black  Rod  cast  wistful 
glances  behind  him  to  see  that  there  was  nothing  in  his  way 
over  which  he  might  stumble  or  trip.     I  should  also  have 
said  that  when  the  Commoners  reached  the  Door  of  the 
noble  Sieurs  they  found  those  Hereditary  Legfslators  clad 
in  their  Robes  of  office — long  blue  gowns  prettily  trimmed 


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33  WEST  MAIN  STREET 

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94 


The  Gallantry  of  a  King. 


with  crimson  sashes  and  edged  with  white  fur — ^and  as  the 
Commoners  entered  the  Door,  His  Lxcellency  the  Sieur 
Chancellor  gave  the  customary  six  raps  with  his  ebony  gavel 
on  the  top  of  the  little  desk  before  him,  and  the  noble  Sieurs 
rose  to  their  feet. 

On  the  Throne  sat  His  Majesty  King  Grimalkin  the  First. 

As  soon  as  Mr.  Black  Rod  had  reached  the  vacant  space 
immediately  in  front  of  the  Chair  of  His  Excellency  the 
Sieur  Chancellor,  he  solemnly  halted  and  turned  to  "the 
right  about" — making  the  manouevre  with  the  necessary 
three  steps.  Then  he  bowed  low  to  His  Majesty — then  to 
His  Excellency  the  Sieur  Chancellor — then  to  the  noble 
Sieurs  standing  to  the  Right  of  His  Excellency — then  to  the 
noble  Sieurs  standing  to  the  Left  of  His  Excellency — then 
to  Mr.  Speaker  of  the  Commons  House — ^and  then  to  the 
members  of  the  Commons  House  collectively.  Then  His 
Majesty  said:  "Mr.  Black  Rod,  kindly  find  seats  for  my 
"Liege  subjects  the  Gentlemen  Commoners.  I  do  not  like 
"to  keep  them  standing;  probably  you  could  find  seats  for 
"them  in  some  of  the  Galleries."  Then  the  Monarch  asked 
the  Sieur  Chancellor  kindly  to  seat  the  audience,  and  His 
Excellency  gave  the  necessary  single  rap  and  the  noble 
Sieurs  and  the  Gentlemen  Commoners  were  seated — also 
Mr.  Black  Rod  and  Mr.  Sergeant-at-Arms,  and  the  Sessional 
Writers  and  Pages  belonging  to  each  House.  Then  His 
Majesty  said : 

"May  it  please  your  Excellency  the  Sieur  Chancellor — 
"and  you  my  noble  Sieurs — and  you  my  Gentlemen  Com- 
"moners :  I  have  come  to  meet  with  you  .at  an  unexpected 
"time,  and  when  I  have  told  you  what  I  have  to  say,  I  fancy 
"you  will  all  be  greatly  surprised.  'To  make  a  long  story 
"'short' — ^as  the  saying  is — your  Excellency,  Nobles  and 
"Gentlemen — I  am  come  to  resign  this  Throne — to  vacate 
"my  great  and  responsible  Office  of  King  of  this  fair  Land." 

A  blank  look  ran  round  the  audience— expressions  of  sur- 
prise came  from  all  parts  of  the  large  Hall :  "Resign  the 
"Throne?"— "It  cannot  be"— "Vacate  the  Office  of  King?" 

"Perhaps  I  had  better  go  on  and  explain,"  continued'  the 
King.    "I  knew,  of  course,  you  would  be  surprised.  '  The 


The   Gallantry   of  a  King. 


95 


"fact  is  that  I  have  been  thinking  the  matter  over  seriously 
"for  a  long  time — 'cogitating'  over  it — as  the  saying  is ;  and 
"I  have  come  to  the  conclusion  that  it  would  be  better  for 
"this  Land  if  this  Throne  were  filled  by  a  Faire  Ladye  or  a 
"Brunette  Ladye — a  Faire  Queep  of  the  Grimalkins — or  a 
"Brunette  Queen  of  the  Grimalkins." 

Murmurs  of  surprise  came  from  all  over  the  large  Hall. 

Then  the  gallant  King  proceeded:  "There  are,  in  this 
"world,  I  am  glad  to  know  and  to  say,  thousands  of  faire, 
"as  well  as  brunette  'Queens  of  the  Household,'  and  thou- 
"sands  of  faire  as  well  as  brunette  'Queens  of  Hearts.' 
"There  are  thousands  of  uncrowned  Queens. 

"Now,"  continued.Hts  Majesty,  "I  have  been  your  King 
"several  years  and  have  done  my  best  well  and  faithfully  to 
"discharge  the  duties  of  that  high  office." 

("Indeed  you  have,"  came  from  all  over  the  large  Hall.) 

"I  deserve  a  Holiday — though  I  say  it  myself.  At  any 
"rate,  I  would  like  a  Holiday.  I  would  like  to  be  relieved 
"from  the  cares  of  office — from  the  cares  of  Statecraft.  The 
"fact  is,  your  Excellency,  Nobles  and  Gentlemen  Com- 
"moners,  I  wish  to  be  a  Sheep  Rancher  and  to  tend  my  sheep 
"on  the  Blue  Mountains." 

(^Exclamations  of  surprise  from  all  over  the  large  Hall: 
"The  King  wishes  to  be  a  Sheep  Rancher  and  to  tend  his 
"sheep  on  the  Blue  Mountains!") 

"Now,  you  may  remember,  or  you  may  have  heard,  or  you 
"may  have  read,  or  you  may  read  it  in  'Hansard' — that 
"when,  years  ago,  I  was  elected  by  the  cordial  and  unanimous 
"vote  of  your  two  Houses  of  Parliament  to  be  King  over 
"this  Fair  Land — it  was  distinctly  understood  and  agreed 
"that  I  could  resign  at  any  time  I  wished  upon  giving  three 
''months*  notice  of  my  wish  and  intention  so  to  do.  It  was 
"furthermore  mutually  agreed  and  understood  that  I  should 
"have  the  right  to  name  my  successor — subject,  of  course, 
"to  the  approval  of  both  your  Houses.  Now,  your  Excel- 
"lency,  Nobles,  and  Gentlemen  Commoners,  I  am  come  to 
"give  to  you — which  I  hereby  do — the  requisite  three 
"months'  notice  of  my  wish  and  intention  to  resign  this 
"Throne.    Now,  as  to  my  successor :    I  resign  in  favour  of  a 


B?*i^-' 


96 


The   Gallantry   of  a  King. 


"Queen — some  faire  or  brunette  Ladye  unknown  as  yet  to 
**nie  and  to  be  chosen  from  without  the  Land  by  the  noble 
"Meur  D'Ulric  and  M.  Machelle — a.  Sheep  Rancher  of  the 
"Blue  Mountains  and  a  Sessional  Writer  of  this  noble  House 
"of  Sieurs." 

(Expressions  of  surprise  and  bewilderment  from  all  over 
the  large  Hall.) 

"If  you  will  patiently  bear  with  me,  you  will  'see  at  a 
"  'glance' — ^as  it  were — my  meaning  and  the  reason  for  the 
"somewhat — at  first  sight — ^peculiar  method  of  appointing 
"my  successor  in  office.  It  is  true — ^as  the  noble  Sieur 
"D'Ulric  and  his  friend  and  my  friend  M.  Machelle  have 
"gallantly  and  patriotically  pointed  out  to  me — that  there  are 
"hundreds — ^yes  thousands— of  faire  and  brunette  un- 
"crowned  Queens  in  this  Fair  Land,  any  one  of  whom  would 
"fill  this  Throne  with  credit  to  herself  and  honour  to  this 
"fair  Und" 

(Loud  and  continued  cheering  from  all  over  the  large 
Hall.) 

"but  you  can  easily  see — on  a  single  moment's  reflection — 
"that  the  difficulty  would  be  in  making  a  choice  out  of  so 
"many  faire  and  brunette  ones  all  equally  deserving.  And 
"then,  again,  there  is  me  great  danger  that  such  a  choice 
"could  not  be  made  without  unavoidably  gfiving  oflFence — 
"where  none  was  intended.  The  ladies  would  not  be  jealous 
" — they  would  not  take  offence — ^but  their  friends  and  rel- 
"atives  might ;  and  in  that  way  incalculable  harm  might  be 
"done  unintentionally.  Only  one  faire  or  brunette  Ladye 
"could  be  elected— all  the  other  uncrowned  Queens  would 
"have  to  be  'left  home' — as  the  saying  is. 

"Now,  it  occurred  to  me,  almost  at  the  outset  of  my  cogi- 
"tations,  that  the  choice  must  almost  of  necessity  be  made 
"without  the  Land.  Tnen  it  naturally  occurred  to  me  that 
"we  could  not  do  better  than  place  the  great  trust  in  the 
"hands  of  the  gentlemen  whom  I  have  named." 

(Loud  cheers  from  all  over  the  large  Hall.) 

"I  feel  sure  that  you  are  now  commencing  to  understand 
"me  and  also  to  agree  with  me.  The  two  gentlemen  I  have 
"named  are  well  known  to  all  or  most  of  you.    I  know  them 


The   Gallantry  of  a  King, 


97 


"very  well  and  have  been  on  intimate  terms  with  each  of 
"them  for  several  years.  I  can  assure  you  that  you  could 
"not  place  the  trust  in  better  hands." 

(Loud  cheers  from  all  over  the  large  Hall.) 
"I  would  add  that  the  matter  has  been  discussed  with  the 
"gentlemen  concerned.  Owing  to  their  innate  modesty  and 
"diffidence  and  bashfulness,  neither  of  them  at  first  seemed 
"willing  to  accept  the  great  honour — ^and  the  grave  trust 
"thus  suddenly  thrust  on  them — ^as  it  were ;  but  after  some 
"consideration  they  came  to  the  conclusion  that  if  you  Nobles 
"of  this  noble  House  of  Sieurs,  and  if  you  gentlemen  Com- 
"moners  of  the  Lower  House,  saw  fit  in  your  wisdom  to 
"offer  them  the  position,  they  would  accept  it  and  do  their 
"best  to  fulfill  the  trust." 

(Loud  cheers  from  all  over  the  large  Hall.) 
"I  would,  therefore,  ask  that  my  notice  of  Resignation  be 
"  'spread  upon  the  minutes'  of  each  House — as  the  saying  is 
" — in  a  large  and  clerkly  hand  by  the  several  and  respective 
"Sessional  Writers  whose  duty  it  is  to  do  the  spreading.  I 
"would  also  ask  that,  as  a  formality,  some  Noble  in  tne 
"Upper  House  move  and  some  Noble  second  a  resolution 
"that  my  Resignation  be  accepted ;  I  would  ask  that  the  same 
"formality  be  complied  with  in  the  Commons  House  and 
"that  the  Resolution  be  duly  'spread  upon  the  Minutes*  of 
"each  House  by  the  respective  Sessional  Writers  of  each 
"House  whose  duty  it  is  to  do  the  spreading.  Then  I  would 
"ask  that  an  Act  of  Parliament  be  passed  'in  due  and  ancient 
"  'form'  by  both  Houses  appointing  the  two  gentlemen  I  have 
"named  Ministers  Plenipotentiary  and  Ambassadors  Extra- 
"ordinary,  with  power  to  go  outside  of  the  Realm  and  there 
"to  elect  and  choose  and  make  choice  of  a  Queen  for  this 
"Realm.  I  would  also  ask  that  each  House,  by  Resolution 
"duly  moved,  seconded,  carried  unanimously  and  duly  and 
"properly  'spread  upon  the  Minutes,*  pledges  itself  unani- 
"mously  to  endorse  the  election  and  choice  so  to  be  made  as 
"aforesaid  by  the  Ministers  Plenipotentiary  and  Ambassa- 
"dors  Extraordinary  aforesaid.'*  (Loud  and  continued 
cheering  from  all  over  the  large  Hall,  and  repeated  cries  of 
"We  will") 


98 


The  Gallantry  of  a  King* 


c.«- 


^r 


"In  conclusion/'  continued  the  gallant  King,  "I  will  ask 
"every  Noble  and  gentleman  present  to  rise  and  join  me  in 
"saying : 

"'Vive  LaReinef" 

This  was,  of  course,  done  with  a  will,  and  was  followed 
by  loud  and  continued  cheering. 


i£MtKSii^»&i^l^i^iHa^i■feig&v 


i't'^NS.;s 


Act  III. 

THE  SEARCH  FOR  A  QUEEN—THE  FINDING 

OF  THE  QjLJEEN. 

S  c  B  N  B  :  First  in  tlie  Land  of  .the  Grimalliins ;  then  in  the  Sub> 
terranean  Channel  leading  from  that  Land  into  Lake 
Superior;  then  in  the  Wilds  of  New  Ontario. 

Tbmporb:  King  William  the  Fourth,  of  England,  and  King 
Grimalkin  the  First,  of  the  Land  of  the  Grimalkins. 


HICK  way  do  you  purpose  going,  D'Ulric,  mon 
"cher?"  said  Maohelle  the  next  morning,  as  the 
two  friends,  leaving  the  busy,  bustling  city  be- 
hind them,  emerged  on  the  pretty  "commons" 
which  surrounded  the  city  and  which  was  used 
by  the  "jennesse  doiee"  as  a  ball  ground  and  cricket  field, 
and  by  the  older  and  more  sedate  people  as  a  Park  and  Prom- 
enade. 

"Well,  my  inquisitive  friend,  don't  you  observe  that  we 
"are  tending  northwards?  In  a  few  minutes  we  will  strike 
"the  'Northern  Trail.' " 

"I  see.  We  are  going  northward,  then ;  do  you  think  we 
"can  get  without  the  Realm  that  way?  I  liave  always  heard 
"that  our  forefathers — ^the  early  settlers  in  the  Land — came 
"from  the  opposite  point  of  the  compass ;  that  is,  they  fol- 
"lowed  the  classic  Cattawaul  up  irom  its  mouth — from  the 
"Great  Sea." 

"So  I  have  always  heard  myself,"  answered  the  Sieur,  "but 
"I  have  also  been  told  by  learned  men  that  it  is  only  reason- 
"able  to  believe  there  should  be  a  great  country  and  a  popu- 
"lous  country  to  the  north  of  us,  if  we  could  only  get  there. 
"And,  in  fact,  I  have  heard  that  there  is  one  Sage  in  the 
"country— one  old  Savant — who  not  only  feels  positive  there 
"is  such  a  far  northward  country,  but  claims  to  have  discov- 
"ered  the  very  pathway  or  route  leading  thercur*-^  Now, 
"my  idea  is  that  we  visit  this  old  Sage  and  lay  the  Vvnuie  mat- 
"ter  before  him  and  get  his  advice  on  the  subject.  You  have 
"probably  heard  of  the  one  I  mean — ^the  Sage  Oscar." 


'*4 


100 


The  Search  for   a    Queen, 


"Why,  yes,  I  have  heard  of  him ;  he  lives  the  life  of  a  her- 
"mit  somewhere  away  in  the  fastnesses,  in  the  very  wildest 
"part  of  the  Blue  Mountains  back  of  the  Capital." 

"Right  you  are,  Machelle,  as  you  generally  are,  my  friend,'* 
answered  D'Ulric ;  "and  we  are  now  on  our  way  to  find  him. 
"We  may  have  some  little  difficulty  in  accomplishing  our 
"purpose  owing  to  the  fact  that  he  dwells,  as  you  have  re- 
"marked,  in  the  fastnesses,  in  the  very  wildest  part  of  the 
"Mountains.  But,  I  am  hopeful  we  will  meet  with  someone 
"before  long  who  will  be  able  to  give  us  better  'sailing  direc- 
"  'tions'  than  I  now  have.  Once  we  get  into'  the  depths  of 
"the  hills,  surely  we  will  meet  with  someone  who  knows  'the 
"  'hermit,'  as  I  think  the  hill-folk  call  him." 

In  a  few  hours  they  had  reached  a  wild  and  picturesque 
country — ^a  rough-looking  country;  high  hills  and  "bluffs" 
towering  away  up  into  the  air,  but  clothed  with  trees  right  to 
their  very  tops.  The  trail  became  narrower  and  harder  to 
follow  as  they  proceeded  northwards.  For  the  first  few 
miles  the  country  on  each  side  seemed  fairly  well  settled ;  the 
main  trail  had  every  appearance  of  being  well  used,  and  fre- 
quently side  trails  or  cross  trails  would  intersect  the  main 
trail ;  gradually  the  main  trail  commenced  to  show  less  fre- 
quent signs  of  use,  and  the  side  or  cross  trails  commenced  to 
become  more  rare,  until  they  ceased  altogether.  The  two 
friends  had  started  on  their  journey  in  the  early  morning ;  it 
was  now  getting  near  sundown  and  the  trail  had  become  so 
little  used  and  was  so  overgrown  and  hard  to  follow  that  the 
travelers  had  more  than  once  been  of  the  opinion  that,  per- 
haps, they  had  better  turn  back.  But,  then,  on  the  other 
hand,  they  were  now  getting  into  just  the  kind  of  country  in 
wnich  they  could  expect  to  find  the  Hermit  Sage.  Truly  the 
country  now  could  be  said  to  be  wild  and  mountainous  and 
rougii  and  almost  inaccessible,  and  such  was  the  nature  of 
the  country  in  which  it  was  popularly  supposed  the  Sage 
lived. 

The  Sieur  remembered  his  informant  had  said:  "You 
"must  keep  on  whilst  the  road  gets  worse  and  worser — until 
"the  trail  gets  so  hard  to  follow  that  you  almost  think  it  can- 
"not  be  followed  any  further;  and  then  just  in  the  very  wild- 


^.rj*,    IRi.-..  •■-^ 


The   Search  for   a   Queen, 


lOI 


u 


41 


"est  and  most  picturesque  place — ^just  about  on  the  very 
"  'height  of  land/  and  amongst  the  hills  and  the  boulders  and 
"the  rocks  you  will  find  the  Eagles'  Nests  and  the  Hermit's 
"Cave.  Keep  your  eyes  open  for  several  large  Eagles'  nests 
"amongst  the  highest  rocks,  and  right  amidst  the  Eagles* 

nests  you  will  find  the  entrance  to  the  Hermit's  Cave." 
So  let  us  keep  a  sharp  lookout,  Machelle,"  said  the  Sieur ; 

we  are  certainly  getting  into  a  favourable  kind  of  country 
"for  Eagles  and  Hermits  or  Hermits  and  Eagles." 

By  this  time  the  sky  had  become  greatly  overcast.  For 
some  hours  the  travelers  had  thought  it  likely  a  big  thunder 
storm  was  brewing;  now  deep  mutterings  of  thunder  could 
be  heard  resounding  among  the  rocky  hills  and  fastnesses  of 
the  mountains,  and  now  and  then  vivid  flashes  of  light- 
ning shot  athwart  the  landscape,  lighting  up  as  bright  as 
noonday  the  innermost  recesses  of  the  forest  and  making  the 
darkness  seem  more  perceptible  afterwards,  for  it  had  already 
commenced  to  get  dark.  The  night  had  set  in  earlier  than 
usual.  The  travelers  were  now  at  a  standstill ;  they  could 
not  go  forward,  because  even  with  daylight  the  trail  had  be- 
come so  indistinct  that  it  was  difficult,  if  not  well-nigh  im- 
possible, to  follow  it.  They  could  not  retrace  their  steps  in 
the  darkness  without  great  danger  of  losing  their  way. 

To  add  to  their  discomfort  great  drops  of  rain  commenced 
to  fall,  and  there  was  every  appearance  that  a  long  night's 
rain  was  about  to  commence. 

Just  then  a  flash  of  lightning  more  vivid  than  any  which 
had  yet  come  suddenly  lit  up  the  whole  landscape  around 
them,  and  at  the  same  time  the  belated  travelers  heard  the 
discordant  cries  of  some  large  birds  and  the  flapping  of  their 
wings  as  the  large  creatures  swiftly  flew  by  them,  and  so 
closely  that  they  could  feel  the  vibration  in  the  air  as  they 
passed.  "The  Eagles!"  exclaimed  both  men  at  the  same 
moment,  and  looking  before  them  in  the  momentary  glare 
of  the  lightning  they  saw  the  Eagles  alight  on  the  top  of  a 
little  hillock  only  a  few  feet  from  them.  The  travelers  re- 
mained motionless,  waiting  for  the  next  flash,  so  that  they 
could,  during  its  short  duration,  advance  further  towards  the 
Eagles'  Eyrie.    It  was  only  a  few  seconds  before  the  next 


.  k 


loa 


The  Starch  for  a   Queen, 


m 


W: 


flash  came,  but  to  the  men  standing  there  in  the  now  drench- 
ing rain  the  period  seemed  rather  long.  When  the  flash  did 
come  the  travelers  made  a  rush  towards  the  rock,  and  as  they 
reached  its  base  they  saw  to  one  side  of  the  rock  what  seemed 
the  entrance  to  a  large  cavern. 

There  was  no  time  to  stand  on  ceremony.  The  rain  was 
now  pouring  in  torrents;  so  when  the  next  flash  came  the 
belated  travelers  made  a  rush  for  the  entrance  of  the  cavern 
and  found  themselves  within  its  portals  and  safe  frcHn  the 
rain  and  the  storm.  Peering  into  the  depths  of  the  cavern 
the  visitors  noticed  what  apparently  was  a  fire  at  the  further 
end ;  it  was  apparently  at  the  end,  because  as  the  flames  shot 
up  from  the  burning  logs  the  travelers  could  see  the  further 
wall. 

The  visitors,  of  course,  were  in  complete  darkness  except 
for  the  fitful  light  of  the  distant  fire.  Not  knowing  the  way 
they  had  to  proceed  cautiously,  and  only  could  advance  when 
from  time  to  time  the  flames  gave  a  more  vivid  light  than 
usual.  The  further  they  were  able  to  advance  into  the  in- 
terior of  the  cavern — in  other  words,  the  nearer  they  got  to 
the  fire — the  lighter  it  became  and  the  quicker  they  could 
advance.  Finally,  when  they  reached  a  point  a  few  yards 
from  the  fire  they  were  enabled  to  make  out  surrounding  ob- 
jects pretty  clearly  and  distinctly,  and  then  they  were  sure 
that  the  figure  they  had  been  observing  for  some  time  was 
that  of  a  man ;  in  fact,  was  that  of  the  Sage  for  whom  they 
were  seeking.  For  some  time  in  the  fitful  light  of  the  flames 
they  had  thought  they  could  make  out  the  figure  of  a  man 
moving  around  at  the  further  end  of  the  cavern ;  how  there 
could  be  no  doubt.  So  the  Sieur  called  out,  "Good  even. 
Sage  Oscar !" 

The  Sage — ^he  it  was— wrapped  his  loose  robe  about  him 
and  advanced  to  meet  his  visitors.  As  he  neared  them  the 
Sieur  said  in  an  undertone  to  Machelle :  "It  is  'the  Hermit- 
"  'Sage ;  there  is  no  doubt." 

Machelle,  who  had  never  seen  their  host  before,  eyed  him 
curiously  as  he  advanced  to  meet  them,  and  saw  a  far  differ- 
ent man  to  what  he  had  expected.  Machelle  had  expected  to 
see  a  thin,  ascetic-looking  man — ^a  hermit  with  long,  un- 


Thf  Sicreh  for  a   Q'ufen, 


X03 


combed  hair  and  ufttrimmed  beard ;  a  man  rough  and  un- 
couth in  appearance.  But  their  host,  who  advanced  to  meet 
them,  was  a  genial — in  fact,  jolly-looking  old  man,  with 
nothing  ascetic  or  austere  in  his  appearance;  a  scholarly- 
looking  man,  a  kindly-looking  man. 

As  he  advanced  to  meet  them  he  said  courteously :  "There 
"are  two  of  you,  I  see.  I  am  indeed  honoured.  It  is  not 
"often  a  Hermit  like  myself  is  so  honoured.  Ah,  I  see  your 
"dress  is  wet.  I  thought  a  big  storm  was  coming  up,  and  I 
"see  it  has  commenced  to  rain  heavily.  Come  up  to  the  fire 
"and  sit  here  and  warm  yourselves  and  dry  your  clothes. 
"Ah,  here  are  a  couple  of  chairs.  Sit  down ;  that's  it.  Now 
"we  are  comfortable.  Here,  I'll  tell  you  what  to  do:  take 
"off  your  outer  clothes  and  spread  them  out  here  to  dry ;  and 
"I  think  you  had  better  also  take  off  your  boots  and  stock- 
"ings.  That's  it.  We'll  soon  be  comfortable.  Now,  the 
"next  thing  I'll  do  will  be  to  get  you  each  a  cup  of  tea  *smok- 
"  *ing  hot,'  as  the  saying  is.  There's  nothing  like  a  real  good 
"hot  cup  of  tea  to  prevent  one  taking  cold.  T  am  a  great 
"lover  of  tea,  you  must  know.  I  do  not  suppose  there's  any 
"old  woman  in  the  Fair  Land  of  the  Grimalkins  who  enjoys 
,  "her  'cup  of  tea'  more  than  I,  the  'Hermit  of  the  Mountain,' 
"as  I  understand  some  people  call  me.  There's  nothing 
"like  a  cup  of  tea  to  warm  you  if  you  are  cold ;  there's  noth- 
"ing  like  a  cup  of  tea  to  cool  you  if  you  are  suffering  from 
"heat.  If  you  are  weary  and  tired,  it  is  the  best  'tonic*  you 
"can  take ;  so  here's  a  cup  of  tea  for  each  of  you,  my  honoured 
"guests.  Is  there  enough  sugar  in  it  to  suit  your  taste? 
"Oh,  don't  thanl(  me  so  much.  You  see  I  was  just  about  to 
"start  to  prepare  my  simple  evening  meal  when  I  heard  your 
"  'good  even/  and  I  bad  lots  of  ho^  water  on  hand,  so  it  is 
"no  trouble  for  me  to  prepare  an  extra  cup  of  tea ;  and  I  am 
"really  glad  to  see  you.  You  are  very  welcome.  I  only  wish 
"I  could  give  you  better  entertainment.  But  you  are  heartily 
"welcome  to  the  best  I  have,  which  will  be  a  nice,  fresh, 
"broiled  speckled  trout  for  your  supper  in  a  few  minutes,  and 
"some  dry  toasted  bread  to  eat  it  with;  and  then  you  can 
"light  your  pipes  and  smoke  whilst  I  shake  down  your  beds 
"on  the  floor  in  front  of  Ae  fire.    They  will  not  be  very  lux- 


104 


The  Search  for  a    Queen. 


"urious,  perhaps,  only  a  few  spruce  and  balsam  boughs,  but 
"they  are  fresh— only  cut  two  or  three  days  ago ;  and  they 
"are  fragrant  of  the  wild  woods  and  the  mountains ;  and,  at 
"any  rate,  neither  the  rain  or  the  wind  can  reach  you  here, 
!'and  you  might  be  worse  off  this  very  night.  Now  please 
"don't  thank  me  so  much.  I  am  really  overjoyed  to  see  you. 
"It  is  so  rarely  a  visitor  ever  comes  this  far  north  and  so 
"high  up  in  the  mountains.  Now,  whilst  you  are  taking  a 
"second  cup  of  tea  I'll  show  you  how  quickly  I  can  broil 
"half  a  dozen  fairly-sized  speckled  trout.  Here  they  are, 
"you  -see.  I  caught  them  this  afternoon  in  one  of  the  little 
"streams  which  meander  down  the  mountain  sides  and  which 
"all  take  their  rise  on  this  'Height  of  Lands,'  as  it  is  called. 
"I  cleaned  them  before  I  brought  them  home.  It  is  no 
"trouble  to  clean  speckled  trout ;  there  are  no  scales,  and  one 
"can  prepare  a  trout  for  the  toasting-fork  'in  less  tham  no 
"  'time* — as  the  saying  is.  After  I  cleaned  them  I  first  put 
"on  them  a  pinch  of  salt,  and  then  I  put  them  in  my  little 
"  'refrigerator,'  as  I  call  it.  You  see,  here  it  is ;  there  is  a 
"beautiful  cool  spring  right  here  in  this  'Grotto,'  as  I  call  it. 
"Well,  I  have  made  a  little  box,  as  it  were,  around  the  spring 
"and  I  call  it  my  'refrigerator.'     Ha !  ha !  ha ! 

"Now,  there's  no  trouble  in  toasting  a  trout  after  it  has 
"been  cleaned.  All  you  do  is  to  put  your  toasting-fork  into 
"its  plump  sides  in  this  way  and  then  hold  it  over  the  hot 
"coals  in  this  way.  You  see,  the  fork  has  a  long  handle,  and 
"you  cannot  bum  your  hands.  Now,  having  cooked  that 
"side,  you  simply  turn  your  trout  thi«  way  and  cook  the  other 
"side.  You  see  it  only  takes  a  rery  short  time  to  toast  a 
"good-sized  trout  if  you  have  good  red  coals.  Now  here 
"are  six  nice  toasted  trout.  I  will  put  them  down  here  to 
"keep  warm, while  I  toast  some  bread  to  eat  with  them.  That 
"operation  won't  take  long.  Now  here  we  are.  Please  have 
"a  trout,  gentlemen.  To  my  mind,  there's  nothing  nicer 
"than  a  speckled  trout,  nicely  toasted — eaten  with  toasted 
"bread.  One  reason  why  I  like  these  quarters  is  that  I  can 
"always  get  as  many  trout  as  I  need  for  my  use,  and  without 
"any  trouble  or  difficulty ;  and  within  a  'stone's  throw,*  as 
"one  might  say,  from  my  'front  door* — ^that  is,  if  I  haid  a 


'i&^SMMM^^ 


ii;<fcii;ti:i3'toJS;_^ji>;j5jj 


The   Search   for   a   Queen. 


105 


"front  door,  which  I  have  not.  I  suppose  if  the  beautiful 
"little  mountain  streams  which  abound  in  this  neighborhood 
"were  within  easy  walking  or  even  driving  distance  of 
"Mieauburg  or  any  of  the  towns  or  villages  they  would  be 
"speedily  'fished  out,'  as  the  saying  is.  But  it  is  quite  a 
"little  jaunt  to  reach  here,  and  so  the  beautiful  trout  fairly 
"swarm  in  the  streams  round  here ;  no  trouble  at  all  in  catch- 
"ing  them.  Do  take  another.  I  broiled  half  a  dozen ;  that 
"would  allow  a  couple  each,  wouldn't  it?  *  *  ♦  Now, 
"whilst  I  wash  the  dishes  please  take  out  your  pipes  and 
"smoke  your  pipes.  No,  I  really  don't  need  any  help ;  but 
"if  you  insist  on  helping  me,  you  can  wipe  the  dishes  dry 
"with  these  tea  towels,  whilst  I  wash  them.  Yes,  that's  the 
"way.  First-rate.  Now  I'll  put  the  'tea  things'  away  and 
"make  up  your  beds  and  then  I'll  throw  two  or  three  logs  or 
"old  roots  on  the  fire.  You  see  I  always  keep  a  supply  of 
"logs  or  old  roots  in  the  'grotto,'  so  that  I'll  have  them  on 
"hand ;  of  a  chilly  evening  a  little  fire  is  so  nice,  isn't  it?"  * 
"♦  ♦  "Now  all  my  chores  are  done,  and  I'll  light  my  pipe, 
"too.  I  do  like  a  real  good  smoke,  and  I  think  one  enjoys  a 
"smoke  better  when  he  lies  lazily  in  front  of  a  fire  of  logs 
"like  this  than  he  can  under  any  other  circumstances.  Don't 
"you  ?  Why,  yes,  of  course.  Getting  slepy,  are  you  ?  Don't 
"apologize.  I  know  there's  nothing  like  a  smoke  in  front  of 
"a  log  fire  to  make  one  sleepy,  especially  if  he  has  just  en- 
"joyed  his  supper,  and  especially  if  he  has  been  traveling  a 
"long  distance  in  the  open  air.  Fast  asleep !  Why,  so  they 
"are ;  both  of  'em !  Well,  well,  I'm  glad  they  came.  I  like 
"their  looks.  We'll  have  a  long  chat  to-morrow.  Oh,  my, 
"I  feel  so  sleepy  myself.  Just  like  an  owl.  Good-night, 
"everybody." 

As  the  tired  travelers  fell  asleep  on  their  fragrant  beds 
they  noticed  with  drowsy  eyes  the  figure  of  their  genial  host 
as  he  put  a  great  big  log — big  enough  to  be  a  "Yule  Log*' — 
on  the  glowing  fire,  and  as  he  carefully  drew  the  brands  and 
coals  together  for  the  night. 

The  tired  guests  slept  soundly  and  restfully  on  their  fra- 
grant couches,  and  did  not  wake  until  late  next  morning. 
The  Sieur  was  the  first  one  to  open  his  eyes,  and  at  first,  of 


io6 


The  Search   for   a    Queen. 


course,  he  did  not  remember  where  he  was,  and  lay  oahi? 
bed  indolently  staring  at  the  arched  roof  of  the  cavern  and 
the  walls  and  at  the  distant  daylight  streaming  in  at  the  en- 
trance of  the  Grotto.  Then  he  noticed  the  figure  of  their 
host,  who  was  already  dressed  and  who  had  just  built  up  the 
fire  ag^in  and  replenished  it  with  wood.  And  then  he  re- 
membered where  he  was  and  all  the  incidents  of  the  previous 
day. 

"Good-morrow,  my  friend,"  called  out  the  Sieur. 

"And  it  is  a  good  morrow,"  answered  the  Sage.  "Never 
"was  a  brighter  day;  never  a  more  glorious  day  in  June. 
"The  storm  we  had  yesterday  evening  was  just  one  of  those 
"siunmer  storms  of  which  we  mountain  dwellers  get  so 
"many.  I  don't  know  how  it  is,  except,  perhaps,  that  we  live 
"nearer  to  the  storm-clouds.  I  would  not  wonder  but  away 
"down  in  the  plains  round  the  Capital  and  in  the  Capital- 
"City  itself  there  was  no  rain  at  all ;  nay,  maybe  the  sun  itself 
"may  have  been  shining  brightly  as  ever,  and  the  burghers 
"of  the  city  may  have  looked  towards  the  Blue  Mountains 
"and  noticed  the  dark  clouds  or  mist  resting  on  their  sum- 
"mit  and  said  one  to  another,  *I  guess  it  may  be  raining  on 
"  'the  hills  to-day.' " 

"It  is  very  much  the  same  way  where  I  live,"  said  the 
Sieur.  "I  also  am  a  mountain-dweller ;  that  is,  when  I  am 
"at  home,  and  I  would  not  wish  to  live  anywhere  else." 

"Nor  I,"  came  from  the  other  couch  where  Machelle  was 
lazily  reclining. 

"Are  you  awake,  comrade?"  asked  the  Sieur. 

"Well,  I  g^ess  so,"  answered  his  friend.  *'l  have  been 
"lazily  lying  here  listening  to  you  gentlemen  so  learnedly 
"discussing  the  storm  business.  But  are  you  going  a-fishiog, 
"Mr.  Oscar?  And  can  we  go,  too?"  Machelle  asked  this 
question  because  he  noticed  their  host  had  taken  down  from 
the  wall  a  fishing  rod. 

'■  why,  yes ;  both  of  you,  if  you  like.  Let  us  go  and  catch 
"a  trout  or  two  for  breakfast.  They  should  bite  well  after 
"the  rain.  They  will  be  on  the  lookout  for  worms  and  flies 
"and  all  sorts  of  food  this  morning,  and  will  be  feeling  ready 
"for  their  breakfast.     I  have  only  one  fishing-rod,  which  I 


The   Search   for   a    Queen. 


107 


"will  be  glad  to  lend  to  one  of  you  gentlemen.  But  I  have 
"several  hooks  and  lines,  and  can  easily  cut  a  couple  of  poles 
"for  the  other  two  of  us,  so  we  will  make  out  all  right." 

When  the  visitors  emerged  from  the  Grotto  door  into  the 
bright  sunlight  of  that  beautiful  June  day  they  found  their 
genial  host  had  not  been  too  enthusiastic  in  his  description 
of  the  beauties  of  the  day:  "Never  was  a  brighter  day — 
"never  a  more  glorious  day  in  June." 

The  air  was  pure  and  fresh  and  exhilarating,  the  sky  was 
of  that  ethereal  blue  so  dear  to  the  Lover  of  Nature ;  in  the 
branches  of  the  trees  the  thrushes  or  robins  were  merrily 
singing.  Far  overhead  the  big  Eagles  were  lazily  sauntering 
with  almost  idle  pinions  as  though  they  were  enjoying  a  de- 
lightful sun-bath;  low6r  down  and  nearer  the  earth  some 
younger  eagles — ^the  "babies"  of  the  tribe — were  gayly  circ- 
ling around,  chasing  one  another  and  practicing  themselves 
in  the  fine  art  of  flying  like  an  Eagle. 

The  genial  Sage  took  the  visitors  to  a  place  where  he  said 
bait  could  easily  be  found.  It  was  a  little  piece  of  black, 
loamy  ground  near  the  bank  of  the  nearest  stream,  and  here 
they  easily  procured  all  the  angle-worms  they  required. 

Within  half  an  hour  from  the  time  they  left  the  Grotto 
they  had  placed  in  their  joint  basket  a  dozen  line  large  fish. 
With  these  they  returned  home  and  in  a  few  minutes  a  sump- 
tuous repast  was  before  the  fishermen. 

After  the  guests  had  assisted  their  host  in  washing  and 
putting  away  the  breakfast  dishes — they  had  insisted  on  tak- 
ing an  equal  part  in  the  household  work  during  the  time  of 
their  visit — ^the  Sage  said : 

"Now,  if  you  gentlemen  will  fill  your  pipes  I  will  take  you 
"over  to  my  Atelier  and  show  you  where  I  work. 

This  proposition  being  readily  assented  to,  their  host  con- 
ducted the  visitors  along  a  little  well-used  path  leading  from 
the  mouth  of  the  Cavern  and  winding  through  the  woods 
along  the  bank  of  the  little  stream  in  which  the  travelers  and 
their  Host  had  fished  that  morning.  Five  minutes'  walk 
brought  them  to  a  pretty  little  log  hut  or  cottage  built  of 
cedar  logs.    In  front  was  a  pretty  little  "stoop"  or  porch 


io8 


The  Search   for    a   Queen. 


and  several  pretty  little  flower  beds  in  front  and  at  the  sides 
gave  the  place  a  very  home-like  appearance. 

"Why,  man,"  said  the  Sieur,  "whose  pretty  little  cottage 
^'is  this?" 

"I  rather  think  it  is  mine,"  said  the  Sage.  At  any  rate,  I 
"paid  for  the  building  of  it,  and  I  have  the  key  of  the  front 
**door  in  my  pcxket ;  and  I  believe  the  lawyers  do  say,  don't 
"they,  that  the  key  to  a  house  is  nine  points  of  the  law,  or 
"something  like  that,  anyway." 

"I  rather  think,"  said  the  Sieur,  "that  the  expression  is 
"generally  put  a  little  differently :  'Possession  is  nine-tenths 
"  'of  the  law.'  However,  the  meaning  is  practically  the 
"same.  You  have  the  key,  and  the  key  generally  goes  along 
"with  the  possession,  and  the  possession  generally  goes  along 
"with  the  key." 

"Ha !  ha !  ha !"  merrily  laughed  the  Sage,  as  he  unlocked 
the  front  door  and  ushered  in  his  guests. 

"What  bothers  me,"  said  Machelle,  "is  why  you  don't  live 
"here  altogether.  This  is  an  ideal  cottage;  really  a  lovely 
"spot.  The  Grotto,  of  course,  is  picturesque  and  romantic 
"in  both  the  positive  and  the  comparative  degree,  but  this 
"transcends  it  a^Itogether  and  is  superlatively  picturesque 
"and  romantic  to  the  third  degree." 

"Here,  here,  Machelle,  that  is  really  an  eloquent  little 
"speech,"  said  the  Sieur. 

"I  think  so,  too,"  said  their  host.  "That  is,  I  agree  the 
"little  speech  just  delivered  was  really  eloquent,  and  I  also 
"rigree  that  this  little  Atelier  or  workshop  is  in  appearance 
"more  romantic  and  picturesque  than  'the  Grotto,'  as  I  style 
"the  Cavern.  But  then,  you  see,  I  have  lived  in  the  Cavern 
"a  good  many  years  and  have  really  become  attached  to  it. 
"When  one  lives* in  the  same  place  a  long  time  he  gets  to 
"look  upwn  it  as  'Home,'  be  it  a  Brownstone- Front-Mansion 
"on  the  'Big  Square'  in  Mieauburg,  the  Capital,  a  Shepherd's 
"Hut  in  the  Mountains  or  a  Hermit's  Cavern-Grotto  on  the 
"  'Height  of  Land.' " 

"Here!  here!"  came  spontaneously  from  the  lips  of  the 
visitors. 

"Some  three  or  four  years  ago  the  thought  came  to  me 


The   Search   for    a   Queen. 


109 


"that,  as  there  was  such  an  abundance  of  beautiful  cedar  in 
"this  neighborhood,  and  as  I  had  the  means  to  spare,  I  might 
"as  well  indulge  the  whim  I  have  had  for  some  years  to  live 
"part  of  my  time,  at  any  rate,  in  a  cedar-log  house.  I  just 
"love  the  smell  of  cedar ;  it  is  so  fragrant.  So  I  journeyed 
"down  to  the  nearest  'settlement*  and  employed  a  sufficient 
"force  of  men  to  hew  the  cedars  and  put  them  in  place  and 
"a  couple  of  good  'kyarpinters'  to  finish  off  the  inside.  The 
"expense  was  not  a  great  deal,  and  it  is  really  a  pretty  little 
"workshop,  and  I  like  the  change.  After  breakfast  I  light 
"my  pipe  and  walk  over  here  and  work  until  noon,  ai:'"l  then 
"I  go  to  the  Grotto  for  Lunch.  Then  I  take  a  couple  of 
"hours'  sleep ;  then  I  return  here  and  work  until  dinner  time. 
"That  is  my  usual  routine.  Of  course  I  vary  it  sometimes. 
"Once  in  a  while  I  'take  half  a  day  off,*  as  the  saying  is,  to 
"work  in  my  little  flower  beds  here,  or  in  my  vegetable  gar- 
"den  behind  this  cottage,  which  you  have  not  yet  seen ;  and 
"then  sometimes  I  take  an  hour  or  two  to  secure  a  rabbit  or 
"two,  or  rather,  perhaps,  I  should  say,  a  hare  or  two,  because 
"I  am  told  the  variety  we  have  is  really  of  the  latter,  and  not 
the  former,  sf>ecies." 

"How  do  you  catch  them,  my  friend  ?"  asked  the  Sieur. 

"Oh,  I  set  "snares  in  likely  places.  There  are  some  cedar 
"swamps  here  and  there  in  the  neighborhood,  and  you  can 
"generally  count  on  getting  one  or  two  hares  if  you  set  your 
"snares  in  a  cedar  swamp. 

"But  here  we  are  in  my  workshop.  I  am  not  sure  that  I 
"can  find  you  each  a  chair ;  but — yes,  I  can.  Here  they  are. 
"Please  sit  down  and  make  yourselves  at  home." 

The  guests  did  as  they  were  requested.  The  room  in 
which  they  found  themselves  was  well  lined  with  books — - 
shelf  after  shelf  all  well  filled ;  and  the  literature  was  of  all 
kinds.  The  sage  was,  by  the  way,  a  noted  Book  Connoisseur 
and  his  library  contained  several  very  rare  and  valuable  vol- 
umes. On  the  walls  were  several  valuable  maps — geograph- 
ical and  geological — and  on  a  large  table  were  a  couple  of 
beautiful  "Globes." 

The  particular  table  at  which  the  Sage  generally  worked 


no  The  Search   for  a   Queen. 

was  littered  with  MS.  and  papers  and  memoranda  of  one 
kind  and  another. 

"This  is  my  'work  room/  "  said  the  Sage ;  "but,  of  course, 
"I  will  not  work  to-day.  I  have  the  honour  to  have  *com- 
"  'pany/  and  to-day  shall  not  only  be  marked  as  a  day  of 
"recreation,  but  as  a  'red  letter^  day,  as  the  saying  is.  I  just 
"brought  you  here  to  show  you  my  Atelier;  that  was  all.  I 
"will  now  take  you  to  my  vegetable  garden,  so  that  you  can 
"admire  it,  if  you  see  fit.  After  that  I  will  conduct  you  to 
"some  of  the  most  picturesque  sights  in  this  truly  romantic 
"and  picturesque  neighborhood."  And  their  host  rose  to 
conduct  his  visitors  on  their  further  tour  of  inspection. 

But  the  Sieur  remained  seated  4s  he  said :  "Pardon  us, 
"our  genial  host,  a  few  moments.  Would  you  please  be 
"seated  whilst  I  endeavour  to  explain  to  you  the  reason  whj^ 
"we  have  come  to  visit  your  Mountain  Home  and  whilst  I 
"ask  the  benefit  of  your  advice  and  suggestions  concerning  a 
"matter  of  very  grave  importance." 

"Certainly,  gentlemen,"  answered  their  host,  again  seating 
himself.  "I  will  be  happy  if  I  can  be  of  any  assistance  to 
"you."    And  then  he  waited  for  the  Sieur  to  proceed. 

"The  matter  concerning  which  I  am  about  to  seek  your  ad- 
"vice  is  not  only  a  matter  of  grave  and  deep  importance — it 
"is  a  matter  of  National  and  State  importance." 

"  'National  and  State  importance'  ?"  repeated  their  host. 

"Yes,"  answered  the  Sieur.  "Perhaps  I  should  premise 
"by  saying  that,  although  my  friend  and  myself  probably  are 
"  'not  much  to  look  at,'  as  the  saying  is,  we  are,  for  all  that 

"  'Ministers  Plenipotentiary  and  Ambassadors  Extraordi- 
nary.' " 

"  'Ministers  Plenipotentiary  and  Ambassadors  Extraordi- 
nary' ?"  repeated  their  wondering  host. 

"Yes.  You  see  before  you.  Sage  Oscar,  a  certain  humble 
'member  of  the  Noble  and  Hereditary  House  of  Sieurs,  and 
*a  certain  Sessional  Writer  attached  to  that  honourable 
'House,  who  have  been  elected  and  appointed  by  the  unani- 
'mous  Resolution  and  vote  of  each  of  the  two  Houses  of 
'Parliament  of  this  fair  Land,  to  do — what,  Machelle?" 

The  Sessional  Writer  answered  dreanwly  and  as  if  he  were 


The   Search   for   a    Queen. 


Ill 


rt  corn- 


reading  something  from  a  piece  of  paper  or  from  one  of  the 
Sessional  Papers  of  the  Noble  and  Hereditary  House  of 
Sieurs : 

"  To  proceed  without  the  Realm  and  there  to  elect  and  choose 
"  'and  make  choice  of  a  faire  Ladye  or  a  Brunette  Ladye  as  the 
"  'Queen  of  the  Land  of  the  Grimalkins,  and  having  elected  and 
"  'chosen  and  made  choice  of  the  Faire  or  Brunette  Ladye  afore- 
"  'said,  to  lead  and  conduct  her— her  consent  justly  being  there- 
"  'unto  obtained — to  the  Throne  of  the  Land  aforesaid  atnid  the 
"'plaudits  of  a  happy  People.'" 

"Well,  well,  well !  You  don't  say  I"  exclaimed  the  aston- 
ished Sage. 

"What  a  capital  memory  you  have,  Machelle.  You  have 
"got  it  'pat,'  as  the  saying  is.  That  comes  of  being  a  Ses- 
"sional  Writer  to  the  Noble  and  Hereditary  House  of 
"Sieurs." 

"But,  gentlemen,"  asked  the  astonished  host,  "what  about 
"His  Royal  Majesty,  try  friend.  King  Grimalkin  the  First?" 

"Well,  you  must  know,  our  courteous  host,"  answered  the 
"Sieur,  "that  the  above  Resolution  was  passed  by  both 
"Houses  at  the  express  request  of  His  Majesty." 

"You  don't  say  so!"  ejaculated  the  astonished  Sage. 

"The  fact  is,  my  friend  and  host,  the  King  for  some  time 
"has  had  it  in  his  mind  to  resign  the  Throne  and  the  Crown 
"and  the  place  on  the  Yens  and  Postage  Stamps  of  the  Realm 
"which  he  has  filled  so  ably  and  so  well.  Two  reasons  have 
"led  him  to  this  conclusion :  he  really  thinks  the  Land  should 
"be  ruled  by  a  Queen  instead  of  by  a  King ;  and  secondly,  he 
"wishes  to  become  a  Sheep  Rancher  and,  to  use  his  own 
"words,  'to  tend  my  sheep  on  the  Blue  Mountains.' " 

"Well,  well !  'wonders  will  never  cease,'  as  the  saying  is," 
exclaimed  the  Sage. 

"Perhaps  I  should  explain  that  for  some  years  His  Ma- 
"jesty  has  been  in  the  habit  of  spending  a  good  deal  of  his 
"time — in  fact,  as  much  of  it  as  he  could  spare  from  his  state 
"and  official  duties — as  a  welcome  visitor  between  the  homes 
"of  M.  Machelle  and  myself.  You  see,  Sage  Oscar,  my 
"friend  and  myself,  like  you,  are  mountaineers,  only  we  are 
"not  Sages  or  Philosophers ;  we  are  simply  Sheep  Ranchers 
"on  the  Blue  Mountains,  'the  Backbone  Range,*  as  it  is  called 


112 


The   Search   for   a    Queen. 


"I  believe,  on  the  official  maps — back  of  the  rising  City  of 
"Catburg.  By  the  way,  we  live  on  the  very  same  mountains 
"as  you  do,  only  the  part  of  the  Range  in  which  our  Ranches 
"are  situate  is  a  good  deal  south,  or  south  by  east  of  this  part 
"of  the  Blue  Mountains ;  but  it  is,  doubtless,  the  very  same 
"Range,  and  we  also  live  on  the  'Height  of  Land,'  or  pretty 
"near  it.  In  fact,  to  speak  scientifically  and  geographically, 
"we  live  in  about  the  same  altitude  as  you  do.  Well,  His 
"Majesty  just  loves  to  come  out  to  'the  Mountains'  and  to 
"breathe  the  'free,  fresh  air' — ^the  lovely  'Ozone' — which 
"only,  perhaps,  can  be  breathed  at  this  altitude.  He  loves  to 
"come  aod  he  hates  to  depart,  so  to  speak.  When  he  is  home 
"at  his  Capital  City  of  Mieauburg  his  thoughts  are  frequently 
"with  us.  His  heart  is  in  the  Blue  Mountains,  so  to  speak. 
"He  gazes  pensively  from  the  spacious  verandahs  which 
"adorn  his  stately  Palace  on  the  easterly  side  thereof  at  the 
"dim  and  distant  blue  outline  of  the  lovely  Blue  Mountains 
"as  they  rise  to  the  sky.  And  as  he  walks  along  the  street, 
"jirclept  'Bay  street' — you  know  the  street,  Sage,  the  one 
"which  runs  along  by  the  bank' of  the  classic  Cattawaul — his 
"eyes  travel  eastward  and  he  thinks,  ever  and  anon,  that  he 
"can  make  out  the  faint  outline  of  the  blue  smoke  from  some 
"new  settler's  brush  pile  or  'fallow'  as  it  lazily  meanders  up 
"to  the  sky,  and  maybe  he  even  imagines  that  his  nostrils  can 
"even  detect — although  at'such  a  long  distance — the  fragrant 
"smell  so  dear  to  the  heart  of  everyone  who  loves  the  wild 
"woods,  of  burning  brush  and  brands.  His  Majesty  has 
"many  a  time  accompanied  Machelle  and  myself  along  the 
"banks  of  the  picturesque  little  streams  which  meander  down 
"the  mountain  sides;  in  fact,  he  generally  has  'waded'  the 
"streams  with  us.  Like  each  of  us  here  present.  Sage,  His 
"Majesty  loves  Nature  in  her  wildest  haunts.  He  has  the 
"heart  of  a  Poet.  Can  you  wonder  at  his  wish  to  live  the 
"life  of  a  Sheep  Rancher  on  the  Blue  Mountains  ?" 

"No,  not  at  all,"  answered  their  host. 

"Well,  'to  make  a  long  story  short,*  as  the  saying  is,  the 
"King  has  resigned,  his  resignation  to  take  effect  at  the  ex- 
"piration  of  three  months  from  the  night  when  he  gave  the 


The   Search   for   a    Queen. 


"3 


requisite  notice  to  the  Assembled  Houses  of  Parliament. 
What  night  was  it,  Machelle  ?" 

"Thursday,  the  tenth  day  of  June,  one  thousand  eight 
hundred  and  thirty-one,"  solemnly  answered  the  Sessional 
Writer,  as  if  he  were  reading  from  a  paper  before  him,  per- 
haps a  Sessional  Paper. 

"Thank  you,  Mr.  Sessional  Writer,"  said  theSieur.  "Of 
course  it  is  understood  that  if  we  find  a  Queen  and  lead  her 
to  the  Throne  before  the  three  months  have  expired,  His 
Majesty  will  resign  earlier,  so  that  there  will  be  no  delay  in 
the  Coronation  Ceremony,  if  we  can  only  lind  the  Faire  or 
Brunette  Ladye  required.  When  the  King  accepted  office, 
several  years  ago,  it  was  on  the  distinct  understanding  that 
he  could  resign  at  any  time  on  giving  to  the  Houses  of  Par- 
liament three  months'  notice  of  his  wish  and  intention  so  to 
do.  It  was  also  expressly  agreed  and  understood  that  the 
retiring  Monarch  should  have  the  right  to  name  his  succes- 
sor in  office,  subject,  of  course,  to  the  approval  of  both 
Houses,  so  it  is  recorded  in  'Hausard,*  and,  therefore,  must 
be  true." 

"Yes,  I  remember  the  circumstances,"  answered  the  Sage. 
The  fact  is,  I  am  glad  to  say,  and  have  the  honour  to  say, 
I  know  His  Royal  Majesty  very  well ;  in  fact,  we  are  per- 
sonal friends.  We  were  fellow-students  together  at  the 
University  of  Mieauburg  several  years  ago.  After  our 
graduation,  our  baccalameation,  so  to  speak,  our  'Artium 
'Baccalameus'  remained  in  the  Capital  to  fill  his  country's 
Throne  and  to  wear  his  country's  Crown  and  to  occupy  a 
distinguished  place  on  the  Yens  and  Postage  Stamps  of  his 
country.  The  other  Bachelor  is  your  humble  servant,  a 
simple  'Hermit  of  the  Mountains.'  " 

"His  Majesty  told  us  of  the  great  and  old-time  friendship 
which  has  existed  between  you,"  said  the  Sieur,  "and  there- 
fore he  suggested  we  come  and  lay  the  matter  before  you 
and  ask  your  advice.  In  our  hurry  we  came  away  with- 
out a  formal  Letter  of  Introduction,  and  therefore  we  do  not 
come,  perhaps,  as  duly  and  properly  'accredited'  as  becom- 
eth  Ministers  Plenipotentiary  and  Ambassadors  Extraordi- 
nary." ^^ 


8 


W"^'"' ' 


114 


The   Search   for    a   Queen. 


"You  are  as  heartily  welcome,  messieurs,  as  if  you  brought 
"with  you  twenty  formal  Letters  of  Introduction.  Surely 
"one  Mountaineer  does  not  need  a  formal  Letter  of  Introduc- 
"tion  introducing  him  to  another  Mountaineer;  nor  does  one 
"honest  man  need  a  formal  Letter  of  Introduction  introduc- 
"ing  him  to  another  honest  man.  But  there  are  one  or  two 
"things  I  do  not  understand :  There  are  surely  hundreds, 
"perhaps  thousands,  of  both  Faire  and  Brunette  Queens  in 
"this  Fair  Land — Queens  of  the  Household,  Queens  of 
"Hearts,  uncrowned  Queens,  any  one  of  whom  could  be 
"capable  of  filling  the  vacant  Throne  and  wearing  the  vacant 
"Crown  and  occupying  the  vacant  place  on  the  Yens  and  the 
"Postage  Stamps  with  honour  to  herself  and  credit  to  her 
"high  office  and  to  the  fair  Land  of  the  Grimalkins.  Why 
"should  search  be  made  without  the  Land  at  all?  That  is 
"Query  number  one.  Queery  number  two  is  this :  how,  or, 
"perhaps,  rather,  why,  does  the  power  of  appointment  come 
"to  be  vested  in  you  two  gentlemen  ?  Of  course  you  will 
"understand  I  am  not  in  any  way  reflecting  on  your  capabil- 
"ity  properly  and  fitly  to  fulfill  the  duties  thus  thrust  upon 
"you,  as  it  were.  And  I  am  sure  the  great  honour  and  the 
"responsible  trust  could  not  have  been  conferred  upon  or 
"vested  in  better  or  more  competent  Trustees — "(here,  of 
"course,  each  of  the  Ministers  Plenipotentiary  and  Ambas- 
"sadors  Extraordinary  rose  from  their  seats  and  bowed  low). 
"What  I  mean  to  imply  is,  that  His  Majesty  probably  might 
"have  seen  his  way  clear  to  have  himself  named  and  nomi- 
"nated  his  own  faire  or  brunette  successor." 

"My  friend,"  answered  the  Sieur,  "as  to  your  first  Query — 
"the  fact  of  your  putting  it  and  the  eloquent  and  poetical  way 
"in  which  you  put  it,  show  that  you  are  a  gallant  gentleman 
"and  a  patriotic  citizen  of  this  Fair  Land,  as  well  as  a  learned 
"Philosopher  and  Sage.  The  only  answer  I  can  give  is  the 
"self-same  one  His  Majesty  ga^e  to  our  mutual  friend,  Ma- 
"chelle,  and  also  to  the  assembled  members  of  both  Houses 
"of  Parliament  the  other  night :  If  an  appointment  or  elec- 
"tion  were  made  within  the  Land — if  the  choice  fell  on  some 
"faire  or  brunette  ladye  within  the  Land — dissatisfaction  and 
"jealousy  might  ensue.    You  can  easily  see  that,  as  in  every 


Tiia*, 


The   Search  for   a   Queen, 


US 


*  nome  or  in  nearly  every  home,  in  the  Land  there  is  some 
"uncrowned  Queen;  perhaps  in  a  good  many  homes  even 
"more  than  one.  The  relativ  is  and  friends  of  the  uncrowned 
"Queen  who  did  not  receive  the  appointment  might  be 
"oltended;  their  feelings  might  be  hurt,  as  His  Majesty 
"sagely  remarked  when  addressing  the  Assembled  Legis- 
"lators  the  other  night :  'Only  one  Ladye,  whether  Faire  or 
"Brunette,  can  possibly  be  chosen,'  all  the  others  must  be  'left 
"  'at  home/  as  the  saying  is." 

nere  the  Sage  interrupted,  but  courteously : 

"There  is  no  doubt  His  Majesty  did  right.  He  came  to 
'a  wise  conclusion.  I  had  not  sufficiently  considered  the 
'matter  when  I  asked  the  Query.  I  spoke  hastily.  There 
'is  no  doubt  the  King  is  right.  The  point  seems  almost  self- 
'evident,  as  one  might  say." 

"Then,  as  to  your  next  Query :  The  King,  having  come 
'to  the  conclusion  mentioned,  had,  of  necessity,  I  fancy,  to 
'suggest  that  Ambassadors  be  appointed  or  elected  and 
'clothed  with  power  to  go  without  the  Land  and  make  an 
election  and  choice.  He  could  not  very  well  go  himself. 
'He  wished  my  friend  and  I  to  be  appointed,  I  presume,  as 
'he  was  on  such  terms  of  intimacy  with  us.  I  did  not  at 
'first  think  I  would  care  to  accept  the  office,  and  at  first  was 
'rather  dubious ;  but  the  more  I  thought  about  the  matter, 
'the  better  I  liked  it,  and  I  consented  to  act  and  to  endeavour 
'to  do  my  best.  That  is  all  any  one  can  do,  eh,  Machelle  ? 
'Both  Houses  of  Parliament  greatly  honoured  us  by  unani- 
'mously  endorsing  the  appointment.  They  have  further 
'pledged  themselves  by  the  formal  and  unanimous  Resolu- 
'tion  of  each  House  to  accept  as  the  Sovereign  of  the  Realm 
'the  certain  Faire  or  Brunette  Ladye  whomsoever  she  may 
'be  upon  whom  our  choice  may  fall." 

"I  am  sure,  my  friends,  the  trust  could  not  have  been 
"placed  in  better  or  more  capable  hands,"  said  the  learned 
Sage,  and  here  agfain  each  of  the  Ministers  Plenipotentiary 
and  Ambassadors  Extraordinary  rose  from  their  seats  and 
bowed. 

"Now,  my  friend,  I  will  plunge  in  'medias  res'  as  is  said  in 
"very  learned  books :    Why  do  we  come  here  immediately 


-i-*v 


ii6 


The   Search   [or   a    Queen, 


"on  receiving  this  weighty  appointment?  Why?  Because 
"His  Majesty  thought  we  could  not  do  better,  and  that  was 
"my  own  conclusion.  I,  of  course,  have  known  you  for  som^ 
"years  past  by  reputation.  There  are  few  in  the  Land  who 
"have  not  heard  of  'Oscar  the  Sage,'  the  'Hermit  of  the 
"  'Mountains.'  The  King  and  I  were  discussing  the  best 
"and  the  quickest  way  in  which  we  could  get  without  the 
"Land.  The  thought  occurred  to  me  that,  although  our  fore- 
"fathers,  the  early  settlers  in  the  land,  came  from  'way  down 
"  'south,'  from  'the  furthest  end,'  and  from  the  far  off  Cat- 
"burg  and  the  southern  Isles  of  the  Sea ;  that,  although  our 
"legendary  history  tells  us  our  forefathers  wearily  traveled 
"from  the  south,  following  the  route  of  the  classic  Catta- 
"waul ;  yet,  surely,  we  might  be  able  to  find  a  way  without 
"the  Kingdom  by  journeying  northward.  I  mentioned  the 
"matter  to  the  King,  and  he  said  he  had  understood  that  you 
"had  given  the  matter  some  considerable  study,  and  that  you 
"had  come  to  the  conclusion  that  it  was  extremely  likely  a 
"route  could  be  found,  if  reached  for,  which  would  lead 
"northward.  In  fact,  His  Majesty  said  the  last  time  he  saw 
**you  he  understood  you  had  about  come  to  the  conclusion 
"that  there  was  a  Subterranean  Chamiel  or  Stream  leading 
"from  somewhere  in  these  mountains  into  Lake  Sup^erior. 
•  "The  King  said  it  might  be  advisable  for  us  to  see  you  as  to 
"the  point  and  ask  you  whether  you  knew  of  a  route  by 
"which  we  could  reach  the  great  North  Land.  If  not,  we 
"perforce  will  retrace  our  steps  and  follow  the  classic  Catta- 
"waul  towards  the  Great  Sea. 

"Have  I  stated  the  case  correctly,  M.  Machelle  ?" 
"Better  than  I  could  have  done,  mon  cher,"  answered  the 
Sessional  Writer. 

"Well,  gentlemen,  it  is  true  that  I  have  given  the  subject  a 
"good  deal  of  thought,  and  I  certainly  had  come  to  the  con- 
"clusion  you  have  mentioned  at  the  time  I  was  speaking  to 
"His  Majesty,  and  to  which  you  have  referred.  But  lately — 
"in  fact,  within  the  last  month,  I  think  I  have  discovered 
"proof  positive  on  the  subject.  I  will  be  glad  to  discuss  the 
"whole  matter  with  you  and  also  to  show  you  the  proof — the 
"eviuence — to  which  I  have  referred.     You  see,  gentlemen, 


u  »*i  V  i*'ffj^; ^yyi'i^  •.'"'"'' 


The   Search   for   a    Queen. 


"7 


"it  is  a  pretty  large  subject.  No  one  can  speak  positively 
"concerning  the  matter.  We  can  only  draw  certain  infer- 
"ences  from  certain  facts;  certain  deductions  from  certain 
"proved  premises,  to  speak  learnedly. 

"Perhaps  I  should  say,  at  the  outset,  that  some  weeks  ago 
"I  discovered  a  Subterranean  Stream  or  Channel;  in  fact, 
"what  seems  a  large  underground  River — " 

"You  don't  say  so?"  exclaimed  his  astonished  auditors. 
"Where?    Do  tell  us." 

"This  Subterranean  Channel,"  continued  the  Sage,  "is 
"situate  not  more  than  ten  minutes'  walk  from  this  very 
"room.  In  other  words,  within  ten  minutes  I  can  take  you 
"to  one  of  the  banks  of  this  under^^round  River.  You  reach 
"it  by  following  a  large  Cave  or  Cavern  to  its  end.  I  found 
"the  entrance  to  this  Cave  last  fall,  but  I  never  explored  its 
"recesses  until  this  spring,  when,  to  my  great  surprise,  I 
"found  that  at  the  further  end  there  was  a  large  stream  of 
"water — in  fact,  a  large  River.  Of  course  it  is  dark  in  the 
"cave,  and  it  is  harder  to  explore  the  River  than  if  it  were 
"out  in  the  open.  One  has  to  take  a  lantern  with  him,  and 
"exploring  in  the  dark  with  a  lantern  is  slow  work." 

"Almost  impossible,  I  should  say,"  exclaimed  the  Sieur. 

"So  I  should  think,"  said  M.  Machelle. 
jiut  even  by  lantern  light  I  have  been  enabled,  I  think,  to 
"discover  almost  positive  proof  that  this  River  comes  from 
"some  country  probably  far  to  the  northward,  where  the 
"same  kind  of  timber  grows  as  we  find  in  these  very  moun- 
"tains." 

Then  going  to  a  corner  of  the  room,  the  Sage  lifted  up  a 
little  branch  of  a  tree,  and  handing  it  to  his  two  visitors, 
said :    "From  what  kind  of  a  tree  did  this  come  ?" 

The  two  visitors  at  once  pronounced  the  little  branch  as 
part  of  a  Balsam  tree. 

"And  what  is  this?"  said  the  Sage,  producing  for  their 
inspection  another  little  branch. 

"There  is  no  doubt  it  came  from  a  spruce  tree,"  said  the 
Sieur. 

"I  fancy  you  are  right,"  said  Machelle.  "I  would  also 
"call  it  spruce." 


Ii8 


The  Search  for   a   Queen, 


<u-.,\, 


:f- 


"Then  what  is  this?"  said  the  Sage,  producing  another 
little  branch. 

"I  would  say  it  was  the  hard  maple,  the  'sugar  maple/  as  it 
"is  sometimes  called/'  said  Machelle  after  examining  it 
closely. 

"I  think  there  is  no  doubt  as  to  that/*  said  the  Sieur. 

"And,  once  more,  what  kind  of  a  tree  think  you  bore  this 
"branch  ?"  said  the  Sage,  producing  still  another  branch. 

"I  would  say  it  was  very  probably  Birch — either  red  or 
"black,"  said  the  Sieur. 

"I  think  so,  too,"  said  Machelle;  "but  where  did  you  get 
"them?" 

"These  are  branches  which  have  come  floating  down  the 
"Subterranean  Stream  probably  within  the  last  few  days ;  at 
"any  rate,  I  have  within  the  last  week  picked  them  up  on  the 
"shore  or  bank.  But  there  is  a  fifth  branch  somewhere. 
"Oh,  here  it  is.    What  tree  produced  this,  gentlemen  ?" 

The  visitors  at  once  said  it  was  a  bough  or  branch  from  a 
ctdar  tree. 

"Well,  then,  gentlemen,  is  it  not  reasonable  to  believe 
"that  this  Subterranean  Channel  comes  from  a  Land  where 
"the  Balsam,  the  Spruce,  the  Maple,  the  Birch  and  the  Cedar 
"grow  ?  Or  perhaps  I  should  put  the  proposition  this  way : 
"Is  it  not  reasonable  to  suppose  that  this  Subterranean 
"Stream  flows  from  Lake  Superior  and  that  it  has  borne 
"hither  branches  of  trees  which  grow  on  the  shores  of  that 
"great  Inland  Sea,  or  which,  perhaps,  have  grown  in  the 
"country  inland  from  that  Lake,  but  which  have  fallen  into 
"some  stream  6t  river  flowing  into  it,  and  have  been  carried 
"down  to  the  Lake  and  thence  have  reached  the  waters  of  the 
"Subterranean  Channel  ?* 

•A  very  interesting  account  concerning  the  various  trees  which 
grow  in  that  vast  extent  of  country  lying  to  the  north  of  Lakes  Supe- 
rior and  Huron  and  the  River  fit.  Mary,  and  now  commencing  to  be 
popularly  known  as  "New  Ontario,"  appeared  some  time  ago  in  an 
ably-compiled  Pamphlet  or  Blue  Book  issued  by  the  Department  of 
Crown  Lands  for  the  Province  of  Ontario  (Toronto).  This  Pamphlet 
is  entitled  "Northern  Districts  of  Ontario."  I  saw  what  I  presume 
may  be  a  later  edition  recently,  and  it  does  not  appear  to  contain  the 
same  interesting  matter  concerning  the  trees  of  "New  Ontario"  as 
did  the  first  edition.  But  the  matter  to  which  I  have  referred  was 
copied  into  another  pamphlet  entitled  "East  Algoma,"  which  can  also, 
I  presume,  be  obtained  from  the  same  Department.  If  the  "gentle 
reader"  is  interested  in  the  subject  of  trees— if  he  loves  the  wild  woods 
and  "the  Forest  Primeval,"  be  should  write  to  the  Department  men- 


The   Search   for  a   Queen. 


119 


"Am  I  reasoning  close  enough,  or  am  I  taking  anything 
"for  granted  which  has  not  been  proved  and  which,  there- 
"fore,  cannot  be  said  to  be  a  premise  or  foundation  for  my 
"argument,  to  speak  learnedly  ?" 

"I  think  your  reasoning  is  clear  and  lucid,  or,  as  the  com- 
"mon  saying  is,  'as  clear  as  mud,' "  answered  the  jovial 
Sieur. 

"I  think  it  is  far  clearer  than  mud  generally  is,"  said  M. 
Machelle. 

The  Sage  laughed  and  proceeded :  "As  far  as  I  can  learn 
"from  a  study  of  the  maps,  and  from  what  I  have  read,  I 
"would  think  the  people  who  live  on  the  shores  of  Lake  Su- 
"perior,  or  near  those  shores — and  I  think  we  can  safely 
"conclude  people  do  live  there — live  in  just  about  the  same 
"latitude  as  we  do.  For  that  matter  there  may  be  mountains 
"there  also ;  perhaps,  for  all  we  know,  there  may  be  a  con- 
"tinuation  of  this  very  Range  of  Hills,  only  you  may  not 
"hear  it  there  called  'the  Backbone  Range'  or  'the  Blue 
Mountains.' " 

All  three  were  silent  for  a  few  moments.  Then  the  Sieur 
said: 

"Do  we  understand  you  to  say  that  the  stream  flows  down 
"this  way?" 

"Certainly,"  answered  the  Sage;  "how  else  would  the 
"branches  have  come  down  here?" 

"That's  so,"  said  Machelle  and  the  Sieur  together. 

"Then,"  said  the  Sieur,  "the  only  way  to  find  out  all  about 
"it  will  be  for  some  one  to  make  a  'voyage  of  discovery'  up 
"stream.  Now,  if  Machelle  is  agreeable,  we  will  make  a 
"  'Voyage  of  Discovery*  up  that  wonderful  stream  and  so  try 
"and  get  without  the  Realiji  in  that  way." 

tioned  for  copies  of  the  two  Pamphlets  referred  to,  and  between  them 
he  will  And  some  Interestingr  Information  concerning  the  forest  wealth 
of  the  country  lylngr  to  the  north  of  the  Great  Lakes— Superior  and 
Huron— and  the  River  St.  Mary. 

By  the  way,  I  recently  heard  the  interesting  statement  made  by  a 
clergryman  that  the  maple  of  Canada  Is  the  very  same  tree  as  the 
sycamore  tree  of  which  we  read  In  Holy  Scripture. 

The  maple  tree  of  Canada  Is  indeed  a  beautiful  tree.  And  it  is  so 
beloved  by  Canadians  that  they  have  taken  its  leaf— "the  Maple  Leaf 
forever,"  ss  the  sonsr  says— as  their  national  emblem  (accompanied, 
of  course,  by  the  pretty  Beaver)  My  clerical  friend  seemed  sure  as 
to  the  statement  he  made.  If  he  Is  correct,  it  is  indeed  a  beautiful 
thought  that  the  sycamore  tree  referred  to  In  Holy  Scripture  Is  the 
self-same  tree  as  the  maple  we  love  so  well— the  Acer. 


^^1 


120 


The   Search   for   a    Queen 


"I  don't  know  whether  it  is  quite  practicable,  old  man," 
answered  Machelle.  "If  one  could  see  where  he  was  going 
"it  would  be  all  right — if  one  could  travel  by  daylight ;  but  I 
"don't  like  the  idea  of  exploring  an  unknown  River  at  night, 
"or  rather  in  darkness,  for  I  presume  it  is  dark  by  day  as 
"well  as  by  night  there." 

"We  would  not  be  in  the  dark,  mon  cher.  We  would 
"take  along  with  us  a  Lantern,  or  even  a  couple  of  Lanterns, 
"and  a  supply  of  coal  oil." 

"How  would  you  propose  to  travel,  old  man  ?"  asked  Ma- 
chelle.    "By  stage  coach,  'wood  scow'  or  'stone-hooker*  ?" 

"By  neither  of  those  modes  of  conveyance,"  answered  the 
Sieur.  "My  idea  would  be  to  buy  or  have  made  a  good 
"birch-bark  car.oe,  and  we  would  paddle  up  stream.  If  after 
"paddling  a  certain  number  of  hours  we  did  not  come  out 
"into  Lake  Suixrior,  or  if  we  thought  it  best  to  return,  we 
"would  retrace  our  steps,  and,  having  the  current  with  us, 
"we  could  easily  do  that." 

Then  the  Sieur,  addressing  the  Sage,  said:  "Do  you 
"think  the  current  is  a  very  strong  one?  Would  we  find  it 
"difficult  paddling  up  stream  ?" 

"No,  the  current  is  slow ;  not  swift  enough  to  make  pad- 
"dling  against  It  difficult." 

Then  the  Sage  continued :  "If  you  really  wish  to  try  the 
"experiment,  I  can  lend  you  a  good  Birch-Bark  Canoe.  I 
"had  it  made  for  use  on  the  'Chain  of  Lakes'  which  com- 
"mence  three  or  four  miles  northwesterly  from  here." 

"Thanks  very  much,"  said  the  Sieur.  "What  about  coal 
"oil?  Car.  you  lend  us  a  lantern  and  a  can  containing  a 
"supply  of,  say  a  gallon  ?" 

"Yes — certainly — I  buy  my  coal  oil  by  the  barrel  and  I 
"have  about  half  a  barrel  full    in  the  storehouse." 

"Thanks,  ever  so  much,"  said  the  Sieur.  "What  do  you 
"say,  Machelle?" 

"I  also  say — thanks,  ever  so  much,"  answered  the  Ses- 
"sional  Writer. 

"Yes,  we  knew  you  would.  But  what  about  our  journey 
"in  search  of  a  Queen  ?  Will  you  be  ready  to  start  at  eight 
"sharp  to-morrow  morning  or  will  that  be  too  early  ?" 


The   Search   for   a    Queen 


121 


"I  am,  I  believe,  one  of  the  joint  Ministers  Plenipotentiary 
"and  Ambassadors  Extraordinary/'  answered  Machelle, 
with  a  laugh ;  "it  is  a  joint  affair.  You  can  not  get  on  at  all 
"without  me,  you  see.  The  choice  and  election  has  to  be 
"unanimous.  If  you  paddle  away  up  to  Lake  Superior  alone 
"and  if  you  choose  and  elect  in  that  far  northern  country  a 
"Ladye — be  she  Faire  or  Brunette — and  even  if  you  bring 
"her  back  with  you — I  might  not  be  pleased  with  your  choice 
"and  you  might  have  to  paddle  up  stream  again  with  your 
"chosen  Queen.  No — I  can't  say  that  I  like  going  on  Voy- 
"ages  of  Discovery  which  have  to  be  made  in  the  dark  or 
"by  the  dim  light  of  a  Lantern.  But  it  is  certainly  an 
"Adventure,  and  we  started  out  in  search  of  Adventures  as 
"well  as  of  a  Queen — and  so — take  it  all  round — I'm  with 
"you,  old  man — and  I'm  ready  to  start  either  now  or  at  eight 
"a.  m.  to-morrow." 

"That's  bravely  and  gallantly  spoken,  old  fellow,"  said  the 
Sieur  rising  and  clasping  Machelle^s  hand.  "But  do  you 
"know,  Mr.  Sesional  Writer,  you  are  getting  to  be  quite  a 
"speaker — really  an  eloquent  speaker — since  we  started  out 
"on  this  romantic  and  picturesque  expedition.  If  you  keep 
"on  improving  we  must  really  'run'  you  for  our  'Candidate* 
"at  the  next  General  Election  in  our  'Riding.'  What  do  they 
"call  our  District  for  Election  purposes,  Machelle?  The 
"Politicians  have  so  'gerrymandered'  the  country — as  the 
"saying  is — that  one  cannot  keep  track  of  the  name  of  the 
"  'Riding'  in  which  he  is  supposed  to  have  a  'Vote  and  In- 
"'fluence!'" 

"Catalinha,"  answered  Machelle. 

"Right  you  are,  sir :  Catalinha  it  is — or  rather,  she  am.  If 
"you  keep  on  practicing  'stump  speaking'  we  will  certainly 
"  'run'  you  for  Catalinha  one  of  these  days." 

"Well,"  said  the  Sage,  "these  little  preliminaries  having 
"been  so  satisfactorily  arranged,  let  me  show  you  gentle- 
"men  my  vegetable  garden,  and  then  let  us  go  and  look  up 
"the  Birch  Bark  canoe  and  get  everything  in  'ship  shape' — 
"as  the  saying  is — for  your  departure  on  your  so-adven- 
"turous  'Voyage  of  Discovery !'  " 

And  the  two  visitors  rose  and   followed  their  courteous 


122 


The   Search   for   a    Queen. 


host  out  through  the  back  door  of  the  cedar-log  cottage  and 
into  the  neatly-kept  vegetable  garden  in  the  rear.  Here  the 
guests  were  shown  certain  beds  which  were  the  particular 
pride  of  the  Sage,  and  in  the  preparation  and  care  of  which 
he  had  spent  many  hours  of  pleasant  toil. 

"You  see,  my  friends,"  he-  explained,  "I  always  had  a 
"penchant  for  ^rdening,  and  as  I  have  an  abundance  of 
"  'time  on  my  hands' — ^as  the  saying  is — I  have  found  a 
"pleasure  in  looking  after  such  things  as  lettuce  and  radishes 
"and  early  carrots,  asparagus,  spinach,  parsnips  and  other 
"plants  which  you  see  here." 

"You  certainly  seem  to  understand  the  art  of  gardening, 
"Sage  Oscar,  and  it  certainly  is  one  of  'the  Fine  Arts,' "  an- 
swered the  Sieur. 

And  then  coming  to  a  rustic  seat  which  was  placed  under 
a  beautiful  maple  at  one  end  of  the  garden,  they  sat  down 
and  enjoyed  the  pleasant  view  of  the  pretty  little  garden 
and  the  picturesque  cedar-log  cottage. 

"There  is  one  thing  I  would  like  to  mention — if  you  won't 
"be  offended.  Sage  Oscar,"  said  the  Sieur,  after  a  few 
minutes  silence,  "or  rather,  there  is  one  question  I  would, 
"with  your  permission,  like  to  ask." 

"Proceed,  my  friend,"  said  the  Sage. 

"That  is  really  a  beautiful  little  cottage — I  agree  with 
"you  as  to  your  love  of  the  cedar  logs — and  I  hope  one  of 
"these  days  to  put  up  on  my  own  Ranch  a  similar  little 
"cottage.  The  wish  has  been  in  my  heart  for  some  time  to 
"have  a  house  built  of  cedar  logs — and  since  I  have  seen 
"this  lovely  little  house  my  wish  has  taken  definite  form,  and 
"if  I  come  back  safely  from  my  journey  to  Lake  Superior, 
"I  hope  soon  to  have  such  a  house  erected  on  my  own  little 
'^demesne." 

"And  I,  too,  on  mine,"  said  Machelle.  "It  is  a  charming 
"idea;  even  if  we  have  gained  nothing  else— or  do  gain 
"nothing  lese — from  our  present  Adventure,  we  have  got  an 
"idea  which  is  well  worth  the  carrying  home." 

"Now,  Sage  Oscar,"  pursued  the  Sieur,  smiling  kindly  at 
M.  Machelle,  "with  this  little  preamble  or  introduction,  I 
"will  proceed  to  put  my  query:   For  whom  are  the  vacant 


The   Search    for   a   Queen. 


123 


an- 


with 
^ne  of 

little 
me  to 

seen 

and 
►erior, 

little 


"rooms  in  the  cottage  intended  ?  You  only  occupy  one  room 
" — ^your  study  or  atelier  or  workroom — what  about  the 
"others?" 

Before  the  Sage  could  reply,  M.  Machelle  interjected: 
"Let  me  answer  for  the  Sage :  *I  am  also  living  in  the  ex- 
"  'pectation  of  finding  a  Queen.  Some  day  the  Queen  will 
"  'come  to  her  pretty  cedar-log  cottage.'  There,  gentlemen," 
pursued  Machelle,  "I  have  answered  for  our  friend.  I  had 
"also  noticed  the  size  of  the  beautiful  cottage  and  the  fact 
"that  only  one  room  was  occupied.  And  considering  the 
'whole  situation — ^and  not  forgetting  the  beautiful  flower 
"beds  in  front  of  the  cottage  and  at  the  sides — I  came  to  the 
"poetical  and  romantic  idea  which  I  have  put  into  words,  or 
"rather  into  the  mouth  of  our  friend  and  host,  and  for  which 
*'I  beg  pardon  if  I  have  in  any  way  spoken  amiss." 

"Gallantly  and  eloquently  spoken,  my  friend  and  fellow 
"sheep-rancher,"  said  the  Sieur — "but  really,  Machelle,  you 
"are  growing  so  eloquent  on  this  journey  that  we  shall  have 
"to  'run'  you — as  the  saying  is — for  the  Constituency  of 
"Catalinha  at  the  first  opportunity.  Such  eloquence  s'hould 
"not  be  'wasted  on  the  desert  air' — as  the  poet  says ;  it  should 
"be  printed  in  the  newspapers  and  preserved  by  'the  art 
"  'preservative'  on  the  pages  of  'Hansard'." 

*"  1  ou  are  full  of  fun,  gentlemen,  and  I  am  sure  your  little 
"pleasantry  is  well  amd  kindly  meant." 

This  was  all  the  reply  the  Sage  made  with  reference  to  the 
romantic  and  poetical  idea  broached  by  Machelle — and  so 
for  the  present  neither  of  the  visitors  referred  further  to  the 
subject — for  fear  of  offending  their  host. 

The  Sieur,  however,  proceeded :  "Do  your  know,  gentle- 
"men,  there  is  another  idea  or  thought  which  has  come  into 
"my  mind  within  the  last  few  days — and  since  I  have  seen 
"this  romantic  amd  picturesque  spot  in  which  our  friend  has 
"made  his  home,  the  idea  and  thought  has  assumed  a  more 
"definite  outline  or  plan  and  has,  in  fact — as  it  were — 
"beocme  a  purpose." 

"What  is  it  ?"  asked  his  two  auditors  almost  "uno  Hatu" — 
as  the  saying  is. 

"It  has  seemed  to  me  that  we  are  all  far  too  selfish — I 


124 


The    Search   for   a    Queen. 


p\. 


"mean  thoughtlessly  selfish.  Now — speaking  for  myself — I 
"love  the  inmost  recesses  of  the  forest — the  depths  of  'the 
**  'Forest  primeval' — I  love  nature  in  her  wildest  moods— 
"and  in  her  wildest  haunts.  I  love  the  murmuring  brook, 
"the  shady  nook  under  the  forest  trees,  the  rustic  waterfall, 
"tHe  sequestered  glades,  the  valleys,  the  mountains ;  in  fact, 
"I,  too,  have  the  heart — at  least  I  feel  I  have — if  not  of  a 
"Poet,  at  any  rate  the  heart  of  one  who  can  feel  and  ap pre- 
-date the  Poetry  there  is  in  nature  in  her  wildest  moods  and 
"in  her  wildest  haunts. 

"Now,  this  being  the  fact — why  should  I  keep  the  enjoy- 
"ment  to  myself  ?  The  thought  never  occurred  to  me  until 
"lately;  but  there  are  dozens — hundreds^-of  tired-out 
"mothers  and  drooping  little  children  in  our  three  large 
"towns — embryo  cities — ^and  tired-out  men,  too — who  would 
"enjoy  so  much  a  day  or  two — even  one  single  day — spent  in 
"a  place  like  this !" 

"That's  so,"  said  Machelle ;  "it  never  occurred  to  me." 

"Nor  to  me  either,  old  man,"  said  the  Sage;  then  he 
added,  taking  his  friend's  hand  warmly  in  his,  "I  thank  you, 
"my  friend;  I  certainly  will  profit  by  the  suggestion — ^and 
"I  hope  in  some  way  some  one  at  least  may  be  made  happier 
"through  the  words  you  have  said." 

"I  am  so  glad  you  fellows  take  my  suggestion  so  kindly," 
pursued  the  Sieur ;  "the  idea  has  come  to  me  that  when  I  go 
"back — if  I  return  safely  from  this  lantern-light  journey  of 
"exploration — I  will  discuss  the  matter  with  our  mutual 
"friend,  King  Grimalkin  the  First.  He  is  also  a  lover  of 
"nature  in  her  wildest  haunts — he  intends  being  a  moun- 
"taineer — ^and,  as  we  have  lately  found  out,  Machelle,  he  also 
"loves  little  children  and  likes  to  play  with  them." 

"Yes,"  said  Machelle,  "his  Majesty  is  a  kind  of  'Santa 
"  'Claus'  himself.  Oh,  the  fun  we  three  had  along  Bay 
"street  the  other  afternoon.  I  told  the  King  hereafter  we 
"would  have  to  call  him  'Santa  Claus'  Partner.'  "* 

"Ha!  Ha!  Ha!"  laughed  the  Sieur;  "I  fancy  even  now 
"some  of  those  youngsters  are  talking  about  the  recent  visit 
"of  'Santa  Claus'  to  Bay  street ;  I  think  I  see  them  showing 

•"Santa  Claus'  Partner."— Thomas  Nelson  Page. 


The   Search   f,or   a    Queen, 


125 


go 
of 

ual 

of 


we 


"those  new  bright  'yens'  one  to  the  other  and  saying,  'Santa 
"'Claus' gave  me  this!    Ha!  Ha!  Ha!" 

"Please  tell  me  the  story  so  that  I  can  laugh  too,"  said 
the  Sage. 

So — between  the  two  friends — ^he  soon  heard  the  story  of 
the  recent  occasion  when  the  three  child-lovers  Had  mean- 
dered along  Bay  street,  holding  as  they  went  a  little  Christ- 
mas Pantomime  or  Children's  Matinee  in  the  "leafy  month 
of  June." 

"That  was  first  rate,"  said  the  Sage  on  the  conclusion  of 
the  story,  "and  it  was  just  like  His  Majesty — he  always  had 
"a  large  heart  and  a  warm  place  in  it  for  the  children." 

"Now,"  continued  the  Sieur — speaking  half  to  himself 
and  half  to  his  two  friends — "why  should  I  not  for  two  or 
"three  weeks  at  least,  every  summer — after  'fly  time'  is  over, 
"of  course — say  after  the  first  week  in  July — have  two  or 
"three  little  visitors — perhaps  one  or  two  of  the  tired-out 
"men  and  women,  too — at  my  Ranch  in  the  Blue  Moun- 
"tains?" 

"Hear!  Hear!"  came  from  the  Sessional  Writer — "I 
"will  too!" 

"And  I  will  take  a  little  journey  myself  down  to  the  Cap- 
"ital  City,"  said  the  Sage,  and  I  will  see  His  Majesty  and  I 
"will  ask  him  to  take  me  with  him  for  a  stroll  along  your 
"Bay  street  and,  between  us,  we  will  pick  out  two  or  three — 
"perhaps  even  half  a  dozen — little  guests  to  fill  the  vacant 
"rooms  in  this  cottage  for  a  few  days  at  all  events." 

"Hear!  Hear!"  came  from  the  Sessional  Writer  of  the 
Noble  and  hereditary  House  of  Sieurs. 

The  Sieur  D'Ulric  was  too  much  affected  by  this  warm 
response  to  his  remarks  to  be  able  to  speak  in  reply  just 
then.  He  simply  took  the  hand  of  the  Sage  in  his  and 
pressed  it  warmly. 

The  Sage  continued :  "I  do  not  know  how  to  thank  you 
"enough,  gentlemen,  for  coming  here  and  gladdening  me 
"with  the  suggestion  you  have  made.  As  you  have  truly 
"said,  'we  are  all  far  too  selfish — thoughtlessly  selfish.*  The 
"idea  never  occurred  to  me  and  I  am  afraid  it  never  would 
"have  occurred  to  me.    I  thank  you  so  much,  Sieur." 


if 
0' 


T 


M 


126 


The   Search   for   a    Queen. 


"My  friend,  I  tell  you,  for  some  time  past — as  I  explained 
"to  His  Majesty  a  few  days  ago — I  have  been  paying  more 
"attention  to  'the  youngsters'  than  I  used  to  do.  And  1  have 
"had  *any  amount  of  tun' — ^as  the  saying  is — with  the  little 
"child-acquaintances  I  have  lately  made.  1  tell  you,  boys,  if 
"you  want  to  have  'real  fun' — as  the  saying  is — ^you  must  go 
"to  'the  youngsters'  for  it.  I  have  found  that  children  are, 
"after  all,  the  best  friends  and  acquaintances  one  can  have 
"and  that  they  make  the  best  chums.  But  let  us  go  and  see 
"about  that  i3irch->bark  canoe— and  the  lantern  and  the  coal- 
"oil — if  it  suits  your  convenience.  I  would  like  to  find  that 
"Queen  as  soon  as  possible." 

1  he  next  morning  at  a  little  after  seven  the  Sage  and  his 
two  visitors  emerged  from  the  Cavern  Door — the  Sage  going 
first  to  lead  the  way,  and  the  visitors  following  and  bearing 
between  them  a  Birch-Bark  Canoe.  In  this  frail  craft  were 
deposited  a  can  holding  about  a  gallon  c^  coal-oil — a.  lan- 
tern and  a  couple  of  stout  paddles ;  also  sufficient  food  to  last 
the  two  men,  if  necessary,  a  week.  The  fact  is,  the  Sage  and 
his  guests  had  stayed  up  until  late  on  the  previous  evening 
baking  a  big  batch  of  bread — large  round  cakes  baked  on  the 
hearth.  The  Sage  had  laughingly  said  he  hoped  he  would 
not  have  to  bake  so  many  loaves  at  once  for  quite  a  long  time 
to  come.  Through  repeated  practice  he  had  become  quite  an 
expert  baker  and  his  large  round  loaves  or  cakes  baked  on 
the  hearth  were  very  palatable — in  fact — ^as  the  guests  said — 
sweet-eating,  ^n  a  few  minutes  the  entrance  of  the  Cavern 
into  which  they  had  to  take  their  way  was  reached,  and  here 
the  party  halted  to  light  their  lanterns.  I  should  have  said, 
perhaps,  that  the  Sage  carried  a  lantern  with  him.  Their 
guide  going  first  and  leading  the  way,  the  visitors  soon 
rear.Ii'^ii  the  bank  of  the  subterranean  stream — which  flowed 
t^  r :  ;  •   ihf  Cavern  at  its  further  end. 

I  vd.'  a  vv^eird  and  picturesque  journey  through  the 
-avcrn  '  ntil  they  reached  the  stream — their  guide  had  ap- 
pa*^entir  ^^t d  visited  the  spot  and  seemed  to  know  the  way 
very  well,  and  the  visitors  had  noticed  when  going  through 
the  woods  that  some  one  had  recently  "blazed"  out  the  trail 
so  as  to  make  it  easier  to  follow. 


The   Search   for   a    Queen. 


127 


the 

ap- 

iway 

lugh 

trail 


When  the  visitors  were  in  about  the  center  of  the  Cavern 
their  host  stopped  them  and  said  "listen!" — ^and  listening 
intently,  they  could  hear  the  sound  of  the  water  as  it  flowed 
down  at  the  further  end  of  the  Cavern  and  as  the  waves 
lapped  on  the  shore. 

"That's  it,"  said  the  Sage. 

"So  I  presume,"  answered  the  Sieur. 

In  a  few  minutes  the  three  men  stood  on  the  River  Bank 
holding  on  high  their  lanterns  and  trying  to  peer  as  far  over 
the  dark  waves  as  possible. 

"I  presume,"  said  the  Sieur,  "that  out  in  the  open  this 
"water  is  as  blue  as  the  limpid  waters  of  the  classic  Catta- 
"waul ;  but  it  is  very  black-looking  here,  to  be  sure." 

"Aye — just  the  colour  of  ink,"  said  Machelle.  "I  don't 
"mean  'blue-black  ink'  but  real  black  ink." 

Just  then  a  little  branch  of  a  tree  came  sailing  down  the 
River,  and  with  the  help  of  a  long  pike-pole  he  had  on  the 
bank,  the  Sage  pulled  it  in.  He  explained  to  his  visitors  that 
he  had  brought  the  pole  down  there  so  as  to  have  it  conveni- 
ent for  use.  The  branch  proved  to  be  a  branch  from  a  moun- 
tain ash — ^no  berries,  of  course,  as  yet,  but  in  flower. 

"There  is  no  doubt  in  my  mind  as  to  the  correctness  of 
"your  conclusions  and  deductions.  Sage  Oscar,"  said  the 
Sieur,  "but  how  long  a  trip  do  you  think  it  will  be  from 
"here  to  Lake  Superior?" 

"I  cannot  say,"  replied  the  Sage,  "but  I  have  the  idea  that 
"in  less  than  twenty-four  hours  and  with  easy  paddling  you 
"will  emerge  into  the  open  sunlight  or  moonlight  or  star- 
"light — as  the  case  may  be — into  the  opyen  air  on  Lake 
"Superior." 

"Well,  let  us  launch  our  frail  craft  and  set  oflf  on  this 
"mcst  adventurous  search  for  a  Queeu'" — said  the  Sieur— 
"but  before  doing  so  let  us  shake  hands  with  you,  old  man, 
"and  hope  that  every  good  thing  will  come  to  you  and  noth- 
"ing  evil." 

"Aye,"  said  Machelle,  "and  let  us  hope  that  soon  that 
"Queen  I  spoke  of  will  come  a-tripping  up  the  mountain 
"sides  and  a  saying,  'Where  is  that  pretty  cedar-log  cottage  I 
"  'have  seen  in  my  dreams?* " 


,4i^'v>ffiS 


■*r,',.»^;ffTK" 


128 


The   Search  for   a    Queen. 


"Ha!  Ha!  Ha!"  laugh€d  the  three  men,  and  the  vault- 
ed ceiling  of  the  cavern  rang  and  re-echoed  with  their  laugh- 
ter. The  sound  was  so  strange  and  weird,  and  it  was  the 
first  time  either  of  the  three  men  had  heard  anything  like  it. 

The  sound  of  the  "Ha!  Ha!  Ha!"  came  echoing  back 
for  fully  five  minutes — from  the  vaulted  roof  of  the  cavern 
where  they  stood  and  from  away  down  the  long  length  of 
approach  through  which  they  had  come — and  from  away 
up  in  the  River  and  from  away  down  the  River.  And  just 
when  all  had  again  become  quiet  and  slill  and  nothing  could 
be  heard  but  the  lapping  of  the  wavos  on  the  shore — again 
would  come  from  some  distapt  point  the  weird  "Ha!  Hal 
"Ha!" 

During  the  whole  of  the  time  the  three  men  just  stood 
and  stared  at  one  another  in  bewilderment. 

Finally  the  Sieur  said,  "I  never  heard  the  like — that  is  a 
"wonderful  series  of  Echoes!" 

"I  never  knew  there  was  such  an  Echo  here" — said  the 
Sage.    "Of  course,  I  have  never  laughed  aloud  here  before." 

"That  is  what  did  it,"  said  Machelle.  "Listen !  Hullo  !o  !- 
"o!o!o!" 

And  for  fully  five  minutes  the  three  men  stood  and  lis- 
tened to  the  answering  " Hullo  !o!o!o!o"  from  here  and  there 
and  all  over,  as  it  seemed. 

"Well,  that  is  an  Adventure  to  start  the  day  with,"  said 
the  Sieur.  "Let  us  now  proceed  to  business,  gentlemen. 
"Grood-bye,  again,  old  man.  You  will  see  us  back  safe  and 
"sound--^nd  accompanied  by  a  Queen  for  the  fair  Land  of 
"the  Grimalkins — within  a  short  time,  I  hope;  within  a  cou- 
"ple  of  months,  at  all  events.  Of  course"  (this  with  a  jolly 
laugh),  "I  cannot  set  any  date  for  our  arrival.  You  will, 
"of  course,  allow  Her  Majesty — ^the  Queen  who  is  to  be — 
"the  use  of  your  Cedar-log  Cottage  during  her  brief  stay 
"on  the  mountains.  We  will,  of  course,  hurry  on  to  the 
"Capital  as  soon  as  we  conveniently  can  do  so.  But  the 
"faire  Ladye — or  the  brunette  Ladye,  which  ever  it  may  be 
" — may  perhaps  be  tired  and  fatigued  after  her  long  jour- 
"ney,  and  may  need  a  rest  before  she  proceeds  to  the  cere- 
"mony  of  her  Coronation." 


The   Search    for   a   Queen. 


129 


said 
emen. 
e  and 
and  of 
a  cou- 
a  jolly 
will, 
be— 
f  stay 
the 
It  the 
ay  be 
jour- 
cere- 


"Her  Majesty  will  be  welcome,  of  course  to  the  Cottage 
''whenever  she  wishes  it,  and  for  as  long  a  time  as  she  may 
"wish  to  use  it.  I,  of  course,  will  be  one  of  her  Liege  Sub- 
"jects." 

"We  will  tell  her  when  we  find  her  all  about  you — and  we 
will  assure  her  of  your  Loyalty,"  said  Machelle ;  "but,"  he 
added,  "the  first*  thing  to  do  is  to  find  the  Queen  which  is 
"to  be,  it  strikes  me.  This  searching  for  a  Queen  may  be 
"a  rather  more  difficult  business  than  at  first  sight  would 
"appear.  And,  speaking  for  myself,  I  am— or,  perhaps,  I 
"should  say  I  mean  to  be — very  particular  in  the  matter  of 
"choosing  Queens.  My  trust  does  not  sit  lightly  on  my 
'shoulders.  The  Sieur  may  find  me  rather  hard  to  suit — 
"rather  difficult  to  please — too  critical — in  fact,  hyper-crit- 
"ical!" 

"We  shall  ^eally  have  to  'run'  you  for  Catalinha  when  we 
"get  back,"  said  the  Sieur,  with  a  laugh. 

By  this  -time  their  frail  craft  was  launched,  and  getting 
into  it,  they  prepared  to  start.  In  the  meantime  the  Sage 
held  the  side  of  the  canoe  to  keep  it  in  position.  A  little 
stick  or  mast  had  been  strongly  fastened  near  the  bow,  to 
which  the  lantern  was  securely  attached,  and  it  threw  a 
bright  radiance  for  several  yards  around  the  bow  of  the 
canoe.  The  Sieur  took  the  bow  paddle  and  the  Sessional 
Writer  the  second  paddle. 

"Well,  I  will  not  say  'Farewell,'"  said  the  Sage;  "I  will 
"simply  say  'Au  Revoir'  and  'Bon  Voyage.'  I  will  not  ex- 
"pect  you  back  for  a  month,  at  all  events,  and  during  that 
"month  I  will  go  down  to  the  capital  and  have  that  little 
"talk  with  the  King  I  told  you  about." 

"Yes!  yes!"  said  both  the  men  in  the  canoe.    "Do!" 

"When  you  come  back  from  your  so-adventurous  journey 
"you  may  find  some  visitors  from  the  city  in  the  Cottage; 
"but  when  Her  Majesty  come®  they  will  be  pleased  to  move 
"to  the  Cavern,  or  to  'camp  out' — as  the  saying  is — during 
"her  sojourn  with  us." 

"Of  course,"  said  the  Sieur. 

Then  Machelle  added :  "Please  give  our  kindest  regards 
"to  His  Majesty  King  Grimalkin  the  First.  Tell  him  where 
"and  how  you  saw  us  last." 


9 


130 


The   Search   for   a    Queen. 


"And  tell  him,"  added  the  Sieur,  "we  have  gone  in  search 
"of  a  Queen  for  the  Fair  Land  of  the  Grimalkins." 

"Yes,"  answered  the  Sage ;  "but  one  word  before  I  let  you 
"go.  If  you  should  return  earlier — and  if  you  find  me  away 
" — ^go  right  into  possession  and  make  yourselves  at  home.  I 
"never  lock  my  doors.  And  now  I'll  not  keep  you  longer — 
"except  to  ask  you  to  make  the  echoes  ring  with 

"'VivelaReine!'" 

And  as  the  vaulted  arches  and  inmost  recesses  of  that 
Cavern  rang  and  re-echoed  as  they  had  never  rung  or  re- 
echoed before,  the  Sage  gently  pushed  the  Canoe  out  iinto 
the  stream — the  raised  paddles  shone  for  a  second  in  the 
lantern  light,  then  sunk  into  the  inky-dark  waters  and  the 
adventurous  voyage  of  Discovery  and  of  Search  had  fairly 
begun. 

After  paddUng  for  about  four  hours,  Machelle  said: 
"Heyo,  Comrade,  let's  halt  for  Lunch.  By  my  watch,  as 
"far  as  I  can  make  out  by  yon  dim  light  on  the  foremast,  it 
"must  be  about  high  twelve,  and  we  started  just  about  eight." 

"I'm  agreed,  old  man,"  said  the  Sieur;  "we'll  stop  right 
"here.  There's  a  ledge  of  rock  on  "which  we  can  lift  the 
"canoe,  and  we'll  have  our  Lunch  and  a  smoke  and  then 
"paddle  till  dinner  time." 

The  canoe  was  safely  lifted  out  and  carefully  deposited  on 
the  ledge  of  rock  and  the  tired  Voyageurs  enjoyed  a  hearty 
Lunch.  Then  they  spread  their  blankets  under  them,  lit 
their  pipes  and  stretched  out  for  an  hour's  lounge  and  rest. 

Said  the  Sieur  between  the  "whiflfs  of  his  pipe :  "In  all  my 
"life  I  never  heard  or  read  of  an  adventure  like  this." 

"Nor  I,"  said  Machelle. 

"I  am  getting  used  to  this  Subterranean  Stream — in  fact, 
"I  am  getting  to  like  it,"  said  the  Sieur. 

"And  I,"  added  his  friend.  "At  first  it  seemed  a  little  bit 
"too  weird  and  unusual.  But,  like  you,  I'm  getting  used  to  it 
"and  as  long  as  the  lantern  burns  alright  and  our  provisions 
"last — and  as  long  as  the  canoe  remains  water-tight — I'll 
"think  it  fun.  But  all  the  same,  I  would  like  to  see  daylight 
"once  more." 


The   Search   for   a    Queen. 


131 


fact, 

tie  bit 

to  it 

lisions 

I— I'll 

flight 


"I  guess  we'll  see  Lake  Superior  in  a  few  hours,"  said 
the  Sieur.    "I'm  so  glad  the  air  is  so  pure  in  this  cavern." 

"So  am  I,"  said  Machelle :  "it  is  really  pure  and  fresh — I 
"guess  it  must  have  come  from  Lake  Sui)erior." 

At  six  o'clock  the  voyageurs  stopped  for  dinner,  and  as 
their  second  camping  place  was  an  extremely  desirable  one, 
it  was  agreed  that  they  should  remain  there  until  morning. 

Said  the  Sieur:  "You  see,  we  are  not  used  to  this  paddling 
"business — and  I  for  one  am  getting  a  little  tired.  The 
"exercise  is  rather  out  of  my  usual  wont.  I  guess  certain 
"muscles  are  brought  into  use  in  paddling  that  otherwise 
"often  lie  dormant." 

"That's  just  what  I'm  thinking,"  said  Machelle.  "I  vote 
"that  we  stay  right  here,  and  after  dinner  wrap  our  blankets 
"round  us  and  smoke  and  talk  and  sleep  until  daylight — I 
"mean  until  it  would  be  daylight  outside — and  then  proceed 
"to  find  that  Queen." 

"Alright,  my  friend,"  said  the  Sieur. 

The  canoe  was  safely  deposited  on  the  broad  Ledge,  and 
after  a  hearty  dinner  the  tired  Voyageurs  wrapped  them- 
selves in  their  blankets,  lit  their  pipes  and  talked  drowsily 
until  in  a  few  minutes  they  were  fast  asleep. 

At  six  sharp  the  next  morning  they  were  again  under 
weigh,  or  under  way — whichever  is  the  right  expression — 
and  at  about  eleven  o'clock  Machelle  called  his  comrade's 
attention  to  the  fact  that  it  seemed  to  be  getting  lighter  in  the 
cavern. 

"I  think  so  too,"  said  the  Sieur,  "and  have  been  noticing 
"it  for  some  time.  The  water  is  also  changplng  colour.  I 
"think,  and  changing  from  a  black  to  a  'blue  black,'  so  to 
"speak.  I  hope  soon  it  will  be  real  blue — like  the  limpid 
"waters  of  the  now-famous  'Kettlekittle  Crick'  or  the  classic 
"Cattawaul." 

"Aye,  aye,  mate,"  replied  Machelle — "l^ut  let  us  stop  for 
"luncheon;  this  is  a  good  place  to  lay  the  canoe  and  we 
"don't  find  such  good  places  everywhere.  We  must'  take 
"good  care  of  our  ship." 

"Right  you  are,  M.  Machelle,"  said  the  gallant  Sieur. 

The  travelers  were  now  so  anxious  to  get  on  with  their 


132 


The  Search  far   a    Queen. 


journey  that  they  did  not  feel  like  staying  long  over  their 
Luncheon,  and  in  an  hour  they  were  again  briskly  paddling 
up  stream. 

Inside  of  a  couple  of  hours  the  Sieur  gladly  called  out : 
"Hurrah,  there's  the  outlet !" 

"Hurrah !  Vive  La  Reine  I"  cried  Machelle. 

For  some  time  it  had  been  getting  lighter  and  lighter — 
and  the  water  was  gradually  becoming  blue  in  colour.  And 
now  not  very  far  in  front  they  could  see  light  ahead — what 
was  apparently  the  outlet,  or  rather  the  inlet,  of  the  sub- 
terranean stream  up  which  they  had  been  paddling  so  many 
hours.  Within  an  hour  the  two  Voyageurs  had  reached  the 
inlet,  or  the  outlet,  and  their  light  craft  came  gliding  grace- 
fully out  of  the  dim  Cavern  into  the  bright  sunlight  of  a  June 
afternoon  on  Lake  Superior.  For  some  time  the  water  had 
been  getting  more  or  less  "ruffled,"  and  once  the  travelers 
had  reached  the  "Big-Sea- Water"*  they  found  the  water 
what  is  technically  called  "wobbly" — and  their  canoe  began 
to  "wobble."  The  fact  was,  a  rather  stiff  "nor-wester" 
was  blowing  down  the  Lake,  and  out  at  sea  the  Voyageurs 
could  see  big  "white  caps." 

"Those  'white  caps'  remind  me  of  the  classic  Cattawaul 
"when  a  strong  southerly  wind  blows,"  said  the  Sieur. 

"That's  about  it,  I  fancy,"  said  Machelle. 

"Well,  here  we  are,"  said  the  Sieur.  "We  do  not  need  to 
"go  any  further,  I  guess ;  not  at  present  anyway.  Let's  land 
"and  take  a  walk  in  the  woods  to  'stretch  our  legs' — as  the 
"saying  is.  I  feel  very  much  cramped  up — sitting  in  a  canoe 
"so  long,  and  especially  not  being  used  to  it,  I  suppose." 

"Say,  Sieur,  do  you  notice  how  'home-like' — so  to  speak — 
"the  whole  country  here  looks.  The  trees  are  so  beautiful — 
"and  look  at  that  Range  of  Hills — why,  it  looks  just  like  the 
"Blue  Mountains  at  home — the  Backbone  Mountains." 

"Well!  well!  Machelle,  I  think  I  understand  it  all  now, 
"or  am  commencing  to  understand :  Don't  you  see  the  in- 
"let  to  the  Cavern  is  right  there  at  the  very  point  where 
"that  range  of  Hills  comes  down  to  the  Lake  Shore?" 

"Y-es"  said  Machelle. 


•••Gltche  Gu'mee— the  Blgr-Sea-Water" : 
Henry  Wadaworth  Longfellow. 


'The  Song  of  Hiawatha."— 


'>«#'' 


The   Search   for   a   Queen. 


133 


"Well,  don't  you  commence  to  understand  it  now?  Don't 
"j'ou  think  that  probably  that  subterranean  river  runs  under 
"that  range — follows  along  undier  the  Hills?" 

"Perhaps  you  are  right,  Sieur;  perhaps  our  Blue  Moun- 
"tains  are  a  continuation  of  this  very  Range.  At  any  rate, 
"we  will  mention  the  matter  to  the  Sage,  and  let  him  'figure 
"the  matter  out' — as  the  saying  is." 

"Yes,  I  will  draw  a  little  sketch  in  my  note-book  right 
"here — or,  rather,  where  we've  landed — so  that  I  can  show 
"it  to  the  Sage  when  we  return." 

"I'll  do  the  same,  Sieur.  The  matter  is  certainly  an  im- 
"portant  one,"  said  the  Machelle.  "Perhaps  when  we  re- 
"turn,  the  distinction  of  'F.  S.  S.'  may  be  conferred  upon  us ; 
"we  certainly  may  have  added  somewhat  to  the  geograph- 
"ical  lore  of  the  schools." 

"W«ll,  as  long  as  we  can  find  the  Queen  we  are  all  right 
"anyway — 'F.  S.  S.'  or  not,  Machelle.  Now,  here's  a  good 
"place  to  land ;  and  we  can  put  our  Canoe  under  the  spread- 
"ing  branches  of  yon  large  red  birch  tree — or  is  it  a  black 
"birch? — ^there's  not  much  difTerence  anyway,  I  guess." 

The  voyageurs  gently  brought  up  their  frail  bark  to  the 
shelving  shore,  and  at  a  point  where  they  were  glad  to  no- 
tice there  was  a  sandy  and  not  a  rocky  beach.  And  here 
they  debarked  and  stood  again  on  "terra  firma" — as  the  say- 
ing is.  Then,  just  as  they  were  about  to  lift  up  the  canoe, 
the  Sieur  noticed  the  lantern  dimly  burning  at  the  main 
mast. 

"Ha!  Ha!  Miachelle,  I  guess  we'll  'douche  the  glim' — as 
"the  saying  is.  We  surely  will  not  need  a  light  any  more 
"in  the  day  time." 

Machelle  laughed  and  said,  "I  really  love  that  lantern.  W€ 
"could  not  have  got  on  without  it." 

The  light  was  extinguished  and  the  frail  craft  was  safely 
deposited  under  the  spreading  branches  of  the  big  birch 
tree. 

Then  the  two  voyageurs  sat  down  and  carefully  drew 
rough  maps  or  sketches  in  their  note  books  showing  the  rel- 
ative positions,  as  they  understood  it,  (i)  of  the  entrance  or 
inlet  to  the  Subterranean  Channel,  h)  "The  Big-Sea- Water," 


134 


The   Search   for   a    Queen. 


(3)  the  Range  of  Mountains  which  ran  down  to  the  shore  of 
the  big  Lake  and  seemed  to  end  there.  This  being  accom- 
plished, the  Sieur  said,  "Now  for  an  early  supper!  I  feel  so 
"hungry !" 

Machelle  said,  "All  right;  come  and  let  us  build  a  fire 
"right  here  on  the  shore.  This  is  a  sheltered  place;  the 
"wind  cannot  very  well  reach  us  here.  And  then  it  is  al- 
"ways  a  good  idea  to  build  a  'camp  fire,'  whenever  you  can, 
"in  some  place  like  this,  where  the  fire  can't  'spread.'  The 
"shore  of  a  lake  or  river  is  generally  a  good  place,  if  you 
"can  get  a  place- — like  this — which  is  sheltered  from  the 
"wind." 

"Thanks  ever  so  much,  my  ever-so-thoughtful  friend," 
said  the  Sieur.  "I  so  much  long  for  a  cup  of  tea.  You 
"don't  know  how  much  I  would  love  just  now  to  drink  a 
"cup  of  fragrant  tea." 

"Well,  my  friend,  if  you  will  assist  me  in  making  a  fire 
"you  can  have  a  cup  of  tea  in  fifteen  minutes.  I'm  a  'great 
"  'hand' — ^as  the  saying  is — to  get  a  pot  boiling  quickly  when 
"I  have  a  good  fire." 

Then,  as  the  Sieur  and  Machelle  hurriedly  gathered  to- 
gether chips  and  sticks  and  got  a  fire  started,  Machelle  con- 
tinued: 

"Wnat  a  thoughtful  act  it  was  on-  the  part  of  the  Sage  to 
"put  in  with  our  provisions  a  little  packet  of  black  tea,  a  few 
"teasjHxynfuls  of  sugar  and  a  couple  of  spoons.  And  he  did 
"not  forget  to  add  a  coupl©  of  cups  and  a  nice  little  granite- 
"ware  tin  in  which  to  boil  the  water.  I  guess  the  Sage 
"must  be  used  to  camping  out." 

The  Sieur  added,  "There  was  one  thing  lacking  at  all  the 
"meals  which  we  took  whilst  journeying  through  yonder 
"Subterranean  Channel.  They  were  all  enjoyable — thanks 
"to  the  good  !baking  of  our  late  host ;  but  I  like  a  cup  of  tea, 
"and  never  can  think  a  'breakfast'  is  a  breakfast,  or  a 
"  'luncheon'  is  a  luncheon,  or  a  'dinner'  is  a  dinner,  except 
"I  have  a  smoking-hot  cup  of  tea." 

"I  guess  you're  right,  old  man,"  said  Machelle,  "but  there 
"was  one  good  thing  about  our  journey  up  yon  Subterra- 
"nean  Channel — there  were  no  mosquitoes  or  black  flies, 


The   Search   for    a    Queen. 


135 


"and  there  are  certainly  a  good  many  here.  I  fancy  they 
"are  just  about  the  same  kind  as  we  have  in  our  own  Land. 
"The  mosquito — or  'Miss  Kitty,'  as  some  people  call  the 
"species — seems  to  sing  about  the  same  tune  here  as  it  did 
"away  back  at  the  Sage's  home  that  day  when  we  went  fish- 
"ing  before  breakfast.  It  seems  a  long  time  ago,  but  I  guess, 
"strictly  speaking,  it  was  only  d'ay  before  yesterday." 

The  Sieur  replied:  "Never  mind — the  flies  won't  trouble 
"us  when  we  have  once  got  our  camp  fire  going.  And  as 
"this  seems  a  pretty  good  camping  ground,  and  as  I  guess 
"we  are  both  tired  after  our  long  paddle,  probably  we  had 
"better  stay  here  all  night  and  not  commence  our  journey 
"inland  until  the  morning.  Besides,  it  would  be  well  to 
"chat  over  our  plans  for  the  future — lay  out  a  'Plan  of  Cam- 
"paign' — ^as  the  saying  is." 

"I'm  agreed),"  said  Machelle.  "Here  goes,"  and  he  ap- 
"plied  a  lighted  match  to  the  heap  of  dry  sticks  and  chips 
they  had  gathered,  aiid  soon  the  camp  fire  was  burning  mer- 
rily. Machelle  ingeniously  rigged  up — as  he  termed  it — a 
simple  arrangement  for  hanging  the  camp  kettle  or  pot  over 
the  fire,  and  in  a  very  short  time  the  water  was  boiling.  Then 
the  tea  was  made*,  and  the  tired  voyageurs  thankfully  sat 
down  to  a  most  enjoyable  meal. 

"I  see,"  observed  the  Sieur,  "there  are  apparently  a  large 
"number  of  wild  strawberries  in  these  parts,  and  they  seem 
"to  be  ripening  well.  We  might  gather  a  pailful  to-morrow." 

"Pm  agreed,"  said  the  Sessional  Writer. 

Aifter  dinner  the  two  men  lit  their  pipes,  threw  two  or 
three  old)  logs  on  the  camp  fire  and  lay  down  near  it  to 
smoke  and  chat. 

Pretty  soon  they  heard  a  "Moo-ooh!"  and,  looking  a  little 
up  the  sandy  beach  they  saw  a  couple  of  cows  meandering 
down  to  thet  water's  edge  to  take  a  drink. 

"Well,  I'm  real  glad  to  see  those  cows,"  said  the  Sieur; 
"it  settles  one  point,  anyway." 

"What  is  that?"  asked  his  comrade. 

"It  shows  this  part  of  the  country  is  inhabited.  I'll  tell 
"you  what  we'll  do:  Let  us  get  up  and  follow  those  cows 
"for  a  little  while.    They  will  probably  have  a  good,  well- 


136 


The  Search    for   a    Queen. 


"beaten  trail,  or  'cow-path/  through  the  woods  to  their 
"home,  and  we'll  see  where  they  live  when  they  are  *to 
"'home' — as  the  saying  is — and  then  to-morrow,  after 
"brekafast,  we  will  call  on  their  owners  and  begin  our 
"search  for  a  Queen.  How  does  that  plan  s^'i^*^  you,  Ma- 
"chelle?" 

"Very ''favourably,"  answered  that  gentlen._  ,  "that  is,  as 
"far  as  I  can  see  at  present.  We'll  follow  the  'cow-bossies' 
" — ^as  the  youngsters  call  them — anyway." 

The  travelers  found — as  the  Sieur  had  said  was  likely — 
that  the  cows  had  a  good,  well-beaten  path  which  they  fol- 
lowed from  the  Lake  inland. 

The  path  was  indeed  so  well  beaten  that  there  was  little 
doubt  it  had  been  much  traveled.  It  was  a  pretty  "trail"  or 
"cow-path"  leading  through  the  great  forest  primeval.  Like 
most,  if  not  all,  "cow-paths,"  this  path  was  anything  but 
straight — it  meandered  here  and  there,  winding  in  and  out 
amongst  the  beautiful  maple  and  birch  trees — the  timber  in 
the  high  lands  being,  as  in  the  Land  from  which  the  voy- 
ageurs  had  come,  chiefly  of  the  'hardwood'  variety. 

"This  is  not  what  you  would  call  a  direct  road — or  a 
*' 'concesion  line'  or  a  'side  line' — is  it?"  asked  Machelle, 
jokingly. 

"No,  my  friend — and  it  is  not  what  you  would  call  *a  short 
"  'cut'  either.  But  you'll  find  it  leads  'home'  anyway — that 
"is,  as  far  as  the  'cow  bossies'  which  we  are  following  are 
"concerned.    Ah,  here  we  are !" 

The  "trail"  or  "cow  path"  had  gradually  been  ascending  a 
"grade,"  and  now  as  the  travelers  came  to  the  top  of  a  little 
rise  or  eminence,  they  saw  nestling  in  the  pretty  little  valley 
which  lay  at  their  feet  the  picturesque  log  house  and  out- 
buildings of  a  farmer — probably  the  "honest  yeoman"  who 
counted  the  two  pretty  milch  cows  amongst  his  possessions. 

"That's  all  right,"  said  Machelle ;  "let  us  go  back  now  and 
"discuss  our  plans  by  the  camp  fire.  We'll  come  back  here 
"to-morrow  morning,  I  fancy." 

So  the  two  men  leisurely  strolled  back  along  the  pretty 
cow  path  and  soon  reached  their  camp  fire  again.     Then 


The   Search   for    a    Queen. 


137 


they  re-filled  their  pipes  and  threw  themselves  on  the  gfrass 
before  the  smouldering  logs. 

"Now  as  to  our  plans,  Machelle.  I'll  unfold  to  you  a  little 
"  'Plan  of  Campaign'  which  I  have  roughly  sketched  out  in 
"my  mind.  Only  roughly,  mind  you.  If  the  general  'plan' 
"meets  your  approval  as  an  'outline,'  we  can  easily — ^be- 
"tween  us — fill  in  the  details  and  minutiae  and  thus  com- 
"plete  the  sketch." 

"Alright,  mon  Sieur — go  ahead,  if  you  please,"  said 
Machelle. 

"Now,  it  has  occurred  to  me  that  in  order  quickly  to  pick 
"out  a  Queen,  we  must  make  what  'politicians'  call  a  'house 
"  *to  house  canvass' ;  in  other  words,  we  must  pay  *dom- 
"  'ciliary  visits' — as  it  were — to  as  many  houses  as  we  can 
" — wc  must  visit  as  many  houses  as  we  can — 
"and  in  as  short  a  time  as  possible.  Now,  how  are  we  going 
"to  do  this?  Well,  one  plan  which  suggested  itself  to  me 
"was  that  we  disguise  ourselves  as  strolling  ti»-kers  and  go 
"around  from  house  to  house  a-singing  lustily  and  in  a  deep 
"baritone-basso-prof undo  style  of  voice : 

"'Pots  to  mend?' 

"'Scissors  to  grind?' 

"'Umbrellas  to  mend?'" 

"But  there  were  one  or  two  objections  to  that  plan.  First 
"and  foremost,  I  did  not  know  a  single  thing  about  the  art 
"of  mending  either  pots  or  umbrellas.  Then  as  to  scissors, 
"I  felt  afraid  I  might  spoil  them  if  I  attempted  to  sharpen 
"them.  The  fact  is,  I  was  afraid  I  could  not  be  a  success  as 
"a  strolling  tinker.  Of  course  you  might  understand  the 
"art  of  mending  pots  and  umbrellas  and  of  grinding  scis- 
"sors.  You  are  so  skilful  at  most  anything  you  tackle,  old 
"fellow,  that  it  would  not  at  all  surprise  me  even  to  learn 
"you  were  an  expert  and  adept  in  the  art  and  handicraft  to 
"which  I  have  referred." 

"Not  I,"  said  Machelle. 

"But  anyway  I  thought  it  would  be  more  desirable  if  an 
"avocation  could  be  picked  on  and  followed  in  which  we 
"could  each  distinguish  ourselves.  Then  happily  I  thought  of 
"the  Professiop  or  Avocation  of  a  Strolling  Pedlar." 


te.. 


■i^ 


mmmmmmnm 


138 


The   Search   for   a    Queen. 


"A  strolling  pedlar  1"  dreamily  repeated  M.  Machelle. 

"Yes,  that's  it — capital  thought — 'happy  thought' — as  the 
"saying  is — wasn't  it?"  enquired  the  Sieur. 

"Please  go  on  and  explain — I  don't  quite  see,"  answered 
his  friend. 

"The  fact  is,  mon  cher,  it  is  just  the  vocation,  profession 
"or  line  of  life  in  which  we  can  greatly  distinguish  ourselves 
"and  in  which  we  can  have  lots  of  fun — ^and  the  most  im- 
"portant  factor,  or  perhaps  I  should  say  feature,  is  this :  By 
"following  the  art  or  profession  lastly  named,  we  can  prob- 
"ably  obtain  an  audience  in  a  less  space  of  time  and  with  a 
"far  greater  number  of  demoiselles — both  faire  and  brunette 
" — than  we  otherwise  could.  Why,  we  will  go  through  this 
"whole  country  a-carrying  between  us  a  'pedlar's  pack*  con- 
"taining  Ribbons  and  Laces  and  a-sing^ng  in  a  deep  baritone- 
"basso-profundo-contralto-alto-soprano-tenor  and  mezzo- 
"soprano  tone  of  voice — as  it  were  and  so  to  speak — those  so- 
"beautiful  and  so-pathetic  lines : 

"  'We've  ribbons  and  laces 

"  'To  set  off  the  faces 

"'Of  pretty  young  sweethearts  and  wives!'* 

"Ha!   Ha!   Ha!"  laughed  Machelle. 

"It  is  no  laughing  matter,"  resumed  the  Sieur.  "You 
"must  remember  we  not  only  have  within  a  short  time  to 
"see  a  great  many  ladies — faire  and  brunette — but  we  have 
"to  decide  as  to  their  relative  merits,  dm  you  think  of  or 
"suggest  any  better  method?" 

"None!  the  idea  is  first-rate  in  every  respect.  It,  of 
"course,  naturally  took  me  by  surprise  at  first.  But  I'm  al- 
"ready  getting  used  to  the  idea — and  I  feel  already  that  I 
"like  the  avocation — in  fact  that  I  am  rapidly  becoming — 
"as  it  were — ^an  ornament  to  the  Profession — and  I  like  the 
"Song  of  the  Order;  what  were  the  wordis  again?  Oh,  yes — 
"I've  got- 'em:" 

And  here  the  Sessional  Writer  rose  to  his  feet,  bowed  to 
an  imaginary  audience,  placed  his  right  hand  over  his  heart 
and  commenced  to  sing  in  a  deep  falsetto — as  it  were — voice 
the  words : 

•••H.  M.  S.  Pinafore."- Gilbert  &  Sullivan. 


The   Search    for   a    Queen, 


139 


J." 


"  'We've  Ribbons  and  Laces 

"To  set  oft  the  faces 

'■'Of  pretty  young  Sweethearts  and  Wives!'" 

"Well  done,  indeed,  my  Fellow-Pedlar,"  said  the  Sieur 
D'Ulric.  "That's  all  right.  We'll  succeed  admirably. 
"Don't  you  see  we  can  travel  from  house  to  house  and  be 
"a  welcome  guest  in  every  house — 'high  and  low' — 'great 
"  'and  small' — they'll  all  welcome  the  traveling  pedlars.  We 
"could  not  have  hit  on  a  happier  expedient.  All  ladies — 
"both  faire  and  brunette — ^just  'dote' — as  the  saying  is — on 
"  'Ribbons  and  Laces';  and  you  see  we  have  no  idea  at  all 
"where  we  may  expect  to  find  our  Queene  who  is  to  be; 
"perhaps  in  shepherd's  cot — perhaps  in  Ancestral  Hall — it 
"matters  not;  she'll  want  to  see  our  'Ribbons  and  Laces' 
"and  so  w^ll  see  her.  Do  you  see?  Ha!  Ha!  Ha!" 
laughed  the  Sieur.  "Ha!  Ha!  Ha!"  laughed  his  friend  in 
unison. 

Then  Machelle  said  in  a  reflective  tone :  "There  is  one 
"thing  though  we  need;  in  fact  we  can't  get  on  without.it." 

"What's  that?"  anxiously  asked  the  Sieur. 

"A  supply  of  Ribbons  and  Laces — with  which  to  fill  our 
"  'Pedlar's  Pack'  afore  mentioned." 

"That's  right — I  have  already  thought  of  that,"  said  the 
Sieur,  looking  relieved. 

"We  brought  with  us  a  good  supply  of  'Yens.'  What 
"we'll  do  will  be  to  find  out  the  name  and  address  of  the 
"nearest  dealer  in  such  articles — make  straight  for  his  store 
"or  shop,  and  fill  up  our  'pfack'  or  valise — ^by  the  way,  we'll 
"also  have  to  buy  one ; — then  we're  ready  to  sing  our  pretty 
"little  Song  and  to  commence  active  business.  We'll  sell 
"our  merchandise  very  cheap,  Machelle.  'Small  Profits  and 
"  'Quick  Returns'  had  better  be  our  motto." 

"Sartainly,"  answered  the  Sessional  Writer.  "We'll 
"meander  down  the  valley — first  thing  in  the  morning  and 
"interview  the  owner  of  those  two  'cow  bossies.'  We'll  find 
"on  the  road  to  the  nearest  dealer  in  Ribbons  and  Laces, 
"and  then  we^l  'make  tracks,'  as  the  saying  is.  We  won't 
"'let  the  grass  grow  under  our  feet,'  as  another  saying  is; 
'will  we,  Mate?" 

"No  sir,"  said  the  Sieur.    "Now  let  us  put  an  extra  Log 


i|pp|il.)Lipiip^Mi 


S(P5?ffpP»ppP^PP????^ 


W.    ^' 


140 


The   Search   for   a    Queen. 


li' 


"or  two  on  this  fire  and  get  to  sleep.  It  may  turn  a  little 
"chilly  'fore  morning,  especially  as  the  wind  is  from  a  cold 
"quarter." 

Inside  of  ten  minutes  each  of  the  tired  Voyageurs  was  in 
the  "Land  of  Nod" — wherever  that  may  be,  and  sleeping 
soundly. 

About  five  o'c!i  ^  Lbxt  morning  Machelle  lazily  half 
opened  his  eye.'-,  and  at  first  did  not  remember  where  he  was. 
He  looked  up  dreamily  at  the  specks  of  blue  sky,  which  he 
could  see  here  and  there  through  the  branches  of  the  maple 
tree  under  which  tlie  tired  men  had  slept;  and  then  he 
looked  out  on  the  "?5cr'-*^)a- Water,"  which  now  was  so  calm 
that  it  had  "never  <.  rirpio ' — as  the  saying  is — in  fact,  it  lay 
there  so  still  that  one  nig;,t  ilmost  have  taken  it  for  a  "sea 
"of  glass" — that  is,  o-  beautiii '  !  I'te-tinted  glass;  and  then 
he  lazily  looked  at  the  -./it  nldej  ..>  -  nre;  then  at  t'le  recum- 
bent form  of  the  Sieur,  Wiio,  w<'vpr  "  In  his  blankets,  still 
slept  peacefully.  By  this  time  Machelle  had  remembered 
where  he  was  and  all  the  incidents  of  the  previous  day  had 
come  back  to  his  recollection. 

He  lazily  rose  and  yawned  and  stretched  himself;  then  he 
called  out  cheerily:  "Hey  O,  Mon  Sieur  Reveillez!" 

As  the  Sieur  lazily  awoke  and  stretched  himself  his  friend 
continued : 

"Come  in  for  a  plunge!  I  do  long  to  take  a  'header*  once 
"more.  The  sight  of  that  beautiful  blue  water  reminds  me 
"of  the  little  inland  Lake  on  my  Ranch.  You  know  it  lies 
"pretty  close  to  our  house,  and  some  years  ago  we  put  up  a 
"little  bath  house  on  its  bank,  just  at  a  place  where  the 
"water  is  deep  enough  for  a  plunge,  and  in  I  go  for  a 
"  'header*  every  morning  afore  breakfast — except,  of  course, 
"in  winter — ^tbem  I  perforce  take  a  sponge  bath  at  home." 

"Right  you  are,  old  man,"  said  the  Sieur;  "when  we  get 
"back  to  the  fair  Land  of  the  Grimalkins  and  to  the  Blue 
"Mountains,  you  must  come  over  and  see  the  little  Lake  or 
"pond  which  I  have  had  made  ri^ht  near  our  home  on  the 
"now-famous  Kettlekittle  Crick.  You  know  I  have  always 
"wished  I  had  a  pretty  little  Lake  on  my  Ranch,  such  as  you 
^e,  and  so  I  thought  out  a  proposition  in  Civil  Engin- 
eering.   The  banks  of  the  classic  Kettlekittle  at  one  place 


«' 


The   Search   for    a   Queen. 


141 


"on  our  ranch  are  high — and  so  a  dam  or  back-water  could 
"easily  be  constructed  at  that  point.  It's  not  more  than  one 
"hundred  yards  from  our  front  door — isn't  that  lovely?  Says 
"I  to  myself,  says  I,  'to  be  sure  there  is  not  much  water  in 
"  "the  Crick"  on  your  place  as  it  is  so  near  the  "fountain- 
"  'head."  You  know  it  rises  in  that  springy  spot — a  kind 
"  'of  cedar  swamp— just  about  on  my  north  line — ^but  it  is 
"  'a  never  failing  "Crick" — there  is  always  some  water  run- 
"  'ning  in  the  stream  even  in  the  dryest  part  of  the  summer 
" ' — although,  by  the  way,  Machelle,  I  have  seen  so  little 
"  'water  in  the  dry  season  that  one  would  almost  think  a 
"  'very  thirsty  cow  could  drink  up  the  stream — so  to  speak — 
"  'but  of  course  after  the  cow  had  drunk  up  the  water  more 
"  'would  come,  as  it  is  never  failing. 

"  'Well,  old  fellow,  I  know  I'm  making  a  very  long  speech 
'" — ^just  as  if  I  was  a  going  to  "run"  against  you  for  the 
"  '  "Constituency  of  Catalinha  in  the  "Commons"  House — 
"  'but  I'm  just  about  done ;  but,'  says  I  to  myself  one  morn- 
"ing,  'if  you  put  a  dam  here  you  will  in  three  or  four  weeks, 
"  'even  with  this  small  flow  of  water,  have  a  little  Lake  or 
"  'Pond.'  And  so  it  proved.  I  am  going  to  have  a  little 
"bath-house  put  up,  just  like  yours,  when  I  get  back." 

By  this  time  the  two  friends  had  prepared  to  plunge  in. 
There  was  no  place  right  there  where  they  could  take  a 
"header"  at  first.  They  had  to  wade  out  a  few  feet  before 
they  could  do  so,  but  as  the  bea(?h  at  that  point  was  a  "sand 
"beach"  they  did  not  object. 

"Isn't  this  water  lovely  this  morning,  Machelle?"  said  the 
Sieur,  as  he  lazily  lay  on  his  back  and  floated  after  taking 
a  "header." 

"Sartainly,"  answered  the  Sessional  Writer,  who  was  also 
lazily  floating  on  or  in  the  blue  water.  "I  think  this  is  just 
"lovely;  there  is  not  a  breath  of  wind — it  is  not  too  hot — 
"nor  too  cold — there  are  no  flies  round  this  morning  ap- 
"parently ;  I  guess  the  cold  weather  last  night  has  dampened 
"their  energy.  And,  Mon  Sieur,  do  you  notice  how  soft  the 
"water  is?  We  must  tell  the  Sage  about  our  'dip'  in  the 
"  'Big-Sea- Water'  when  we  get  back.  I  wonder  whether  he 
"is  also  a  Lover  of  cold  water." 


4 


142 


The   Search   for    a    Queen. 


Then  the  friends  leisurely  dried  themselves,  dressed  and 
ran  back  to  their  Camp  Fire.  Gathering  some  dry  sticks 
and  "drift  wood"  which  lay  along  the  shore,  they  soon  had 
a  good  fire  again,  and  in  a  few  minutes  sat  down  to  Break- 
fast. Within  an  hour  after  breakfast  they  were  talking  to 
the  "honest  yeoman"  who  owned  the  two  "cow  bossies"  they 
had  seen  and  followed  on  the  previous  evening.  The  farmer 
was  engaged  in  "hitching  up"  his  team  to  a  big  farm  wag- 
gon which  stood'  in  front  of  the  barn  door.  The  waggon 
was  painted  prettily  in  a  homely  sort  of  way — bars  or  streaks 
of  red  being  painted  transversely — as  it  were — across  the 
box. 

"What  a  lovely  waggon!"  said  Machelle  to  the  Sieur  as 
the  two  travelers  drew  near  the  farmer  and  his  team.  The 
proprietor  seemed  pleased  with  the  compliment  and  said: 
"Good  morrow,  Gentlemen.  Yet,  it  is  a  fairish  looking 
"waggon.  Of  course  it  is  a  home-made  aflfair — but  none 
"the  worse  for  that.  And  as  to  the  painting,  my  good  wife 
"and  I  bought  some  red  ochre  down  to  'the  Corners'  and 
"mixed  it  with  some  turpentine,  and  we  used  our  white- 
"wash  brush.  But  it  is  a  likely-looking  waggon,"  continued 
the  farmer,  proudly  surveying  the  red  stripes  on  the  wag- 
gon box,  "and  my  wife  and  I  are  real  proud  of  it.  She  did 
"most  of  the  painting  herself.  She  is  real  neat  and  artistic 
"about  anything  like  that — so  she  is.  Now,  you  see  tnose 
"pretty  little  pansy  beds  in  front  of  the  house  over  there? 
"Some  of  them  are  round,  some  are  oval,  some  oblong — 
"and  others  diflEerent  shapes.  All  sorts  and  shapes,  I'm 
'Very  fond  of  pansies  mysdf ,  but  I  do  not  think  I  ever  could 
"have  laid  out  those  beds  as  purtily  as  she  did.  And  they — 
"the  pansies  I  mean — ^are  of  all  sorts  and  colours.  We're 
"real  proud  of  our  Pansies.  Say,  won't  you  come  over  and 
"look  at  'em?  It'll  please  my  wife,  too — she  does  think  a 
"great  siglit  of  them  Pansies." 

"Well,  I  just  love  all  sorts  of  Flowers,"  said  the  Sieur, 
with  a  kindly  smile,  "and  perhaps  if  we  go  over  and  see  the 
"beds  your  Lady  will  give  us  each  a  button-hole  bouquet — 
"so  that  we'll  look  smart  when  we  get  to  town." 

"Get  to  town?"  asked  the  farmer.    "What  town?" 


The   Search   for   a    Queen. 


143 


ose 
iere? 

Fm 
mid 

-y— 

'e're 
land 
lk  a 


"  Wa'al,  I  hardly  know  the  name  of  it — seeing  we  are  both 
"strangers  in  these  'ere  parts,"  answered  the  Sieur  blandly; 
"but  any  town  will  dio  us — won't  it,  Machelle?  I  mean  the 
"nearest  town." 

"I  thought  you  wuz  probably  furriners  by  your  haxcent, 
"gentlemen.  We  don't  see  many  furriners  round  these  'ere 
"parts.  Ais  to  the  'nearest  town,'  as  you  call  it,  it  would  be 
"a  purty  long  way  from  these  'ere  'diggings' — ^perhaps  sev- 
"eral  hundred  miles." 

"You  don't  say  so!"  said  the  astonished  Sieur. 

"That's  what  I  do,  gentlemen,  and  if  you  weren't  furrin- 
"ers,  as  I  said,  you  would  know  that  'Little  Muddy 
"York'**  is  several  hundred  miles  from  here;  away  down 
"albout  thie  centre  of  Lake  Ontario,  and  on  the  north  side. 
"There's  Trois  Rivieres**  and  Mout  Royale*'  and 
"Quebec,  of  course,  but  they  are  still  further  down  towards 
"the  Big  Sea." 

"But,"  said  Machelle,  "surely  there  must  be  some  place 
"where  one  can  buy  some  'Ribbons  and  Laces  to  set' — I 
"men — that  is — ^yes — some  Ribbons  and  Laces." 

"I  don't  know  what  you  mean  exactly  by  'Ribbons  and 
"Laces  to  set,'  as  you  called  'em,  but  there  are  a  couple  of 
"real  good  stores  down  at  'The  Corners:'  You  can  buy 
"most  everything  down  there  now  they  do  say,  'from  a  brass 
"cannon  to  a  needle' — as  the  saying  is ;  but  of  course  not 
"exactly.  They  don't  keep  any  brass  cannons  'in  stock' — ^as 
"they  call  it — I  fancy — but  they  have  lots  of  needles.  But 
"here  comes  my  Gude  Wife:  Say,  my  dear,  do  they  keep 
"such  a  thing  as  'Ribbons  and  Laces  to  set'  down  at  'the 
"Corners'?" 

"  'Ribbons  and  Laces  to  set  ?'  "  repeated  the  Gude  Wife. 

"Yes,  these  'ere  gentlemen  are  furriners:  and  they  are 

•1— Probably  the  same  place  as  the  thrlvlngr  city  now  called  "To- 
"ronto"— In  the  Province  of  Ontario,  and  whose  Inhabitants  have  seen 
fit  to  style  their  city  "the  Queen  City."  I  think  I  have  read  some- 
where or  other  that  In  early  days  the  present  "Queen  City"  bore  the 
romantic  and  picturesque  title  of  "iLlttle  Muddy  York."— Translator. 

*1     Probably  the  town  "^r  city  now  called  "Three  Rivers,"  in  the 
Province  of  Quebec.— Tranalatof. 

*2     Probably  the  same  place  which  now  Is  called 
thriving  city  in  the  ProTiXice  of  Quebec— Translator. 


'Montreal:"  a 


144 


The   Search   for   a    Queen. 


"looking  for  a  town  or  a  city  maybe  where  they  can  buy 
"  'some  Ribbons  and  Laces  to  set.'  " 

Then  Machelle  took  off  his  hat  and  bowing  to  the  Lady, 
said :  "Our  friend,  the  Gudeman  of  the  House — is  a  little 
"mistaken:  or  rather  I  was  mistaken  myself  when  I  men- 
"tioned  the  matter:  the  words  'to  set*  should  not  have  been 
"added  to  the  words  'Ribbons  and  Laces' — at  any  rate  not 
"by  themselves  in  the  disconnected  way  in  which  I  added 
"them.  The  fact  is,  madame,  I  simply  wondered  whether 
"there  was  not  some  place  in  this  pretty  neighborhood  of 
"yours  where  my  friend"  (and  here  Machelle  looked  towards 
the  Sieur,  who  took  off  his  hat  and  bowed)  "and  I  could 
"invest  a  few  spare  Yens  m  a  supply  of  Ribbons  and  Laces." 

The  Gude  wife  had  probably  never  heard  such  a  lengthy 
and  consecutive  speech  in  her  life,  and  she  looked  very  much 
bewildered.  Then  she  said  to  her  Gude  man — in  a  loud 
aside:  "They  do  seem  real  nice  gentlemen — and  so  perlite 
" — probably  they  are  Frenchmans:  it  is  too  bad  they  are 
"furriners." 

Then  she  said  to  Machelle,  "There  are  two  good  shops  at 
"'the  Corners'  where  they  keep  most  everything.  Bales 
"and  bales  of  goods.  They  get  'em  up  by  'York  Boats'  from 
"away  down  below — Mount  Royale  and  sich  places.  As  ti> 
"Ribbons  and  Laces:  Old  Man  Jackson,  who  keeps  sto'  at 
"  'the  Cormers,'  has  a  real  elegant  supply  of  'em — came  up 
"the  River  last  month  sometime  at  the  opening  of  naviga- 
"tion." 

Then  she  turned  to  her  Gude  man  and  said:  "My  dear, 
"why  can't  you  put  some  loose  straw  at  the  bottom  of  the 
"waggin  and  give  the  furrin  gentlemen  *a  lift*  into  'the 
"'Soo'?" 

"  *A  lift  into  the  Soo' — ^madam  ?"  enquired  the  perplexed 
Machelle ;  "we  do  not  wish  just  now  to  be  lifted  anywhere 
"particularly." 

"Oh — I  was  forgettin'  the  fact  that  you  gentlemen  is  fur- 
"riners  and  mos*  everything  has  to  be  explained  to  you.  Of 
"course  it  is  not  your  fault.  You  don't  know  any  better  and 
"you  can't  help  bein'  furriners.  I  will  explain  the  matter." 
(And  then  the  kind  lady  commenced  to  speak  very  slowly 


r 


ril^^ 


The   Search   for    a    Queen. 


145 


fur- 
Of 
and 
er." 
wly 


! 


and  distinctly  and  to  punctuate  her  words  with  her  index 
or  fore  finger  in  this  sort  of  a  way) :  "  'The  Corners'  is  the 
'same  as  'the  Soo :'  both  and  the  same :  the  wery  same.  You 
'can  call  it  'the  Soo'  or  you  can  call  it  'the  Corners' :  it  won't 
'make  any  difference.  And  it  won't  hurt  any  one's  feel- 
'ings." 

"Oh !  I  am  so  glad  to  hear  that,"  said  the  Sieur,  "I  feel  so 
'relieved — I  would  not  wish  to  hurt  anyone's  feelings — so 
'easily  and  sorely  wounded.  Now,  madam,"  (this  with  one 
of  his  genial  and  far-reaching  smiles),  "how  far  from  here 
'is  it  to  'the  Soo'  or  'the  Corners,'  or  'the  Corners'  or  'the 
*  *Soo' — whichever  it  is  ?" 

"How  far  is  it,  Gudeman  ?  I  alwuz  clean  forget  the  exact 
'distance.  And  he  alwuz  knows  because  he  travels  the  road 
'so  often.  And  I  guess  the  poor  horses  know  too — becoz  it 
'is  not  what  you  might  call  an  extra  easy  road  to  drive 
'over." 

"About  fifteen  miles  or  more — nearer  saxteeti,  I  g^ess," 
answered  the  honest  Yeoman.  "As  my  good  lady  says,  the 
"road  is  not  'an  extra  easy  road' — ^but  it  might  be  worse.  It 
"might  also  be  better — eh  Dobbin,  eh  Moll."  (this  latter 
enquiry  was  addressed  to  the  horses — ^as  they  patiently 
waited,  and  as  their  master  gently  patted  them).  Then  the 
good-hearted  farmer  continued — addressing  "the  furriners :" 
"If  it  be  so  that  you  gentlemen  would  like  to  go  with  us  to 
"  'the  Soo' — ^my  lady  and  I  are  going  there  to  buy  some 
"pervishions.  I  will  just  throw — ^as  she  said — some  loose 
"straw  into  the  box  and  you  can  sit  there  comfortably — that 
"is,  as  comfortably  as  can  be  expected  under  all  the  sar- 
"cumstances  and  a  considerin*  there  ain't  any  springs  to  the 
"waggin  and  that  there  is  a  heap  sight  of  stones  on  the 
"road." 

"Thanks  ever  so  much,"  said  the  Sieur,  "and  whilst  you 
"are  getting  the  straw  i)erhaps  your  kind  Lady  would  let 
"us  see  her  beautiful  Pansy  Beds,  and  perhaps  even  g^ve  my 
"friend  and  myself  a  button-hole  bouquet." 

"Of  course  I  will,  with  pleasure,"  said  the  Gude  wife. 
The  pansies  were  really  beautiful ;  neither  of  the  visitors 
had  ever  seen  such  a  lovely  collection — every  possible  hue 


10 


146 


The   Search   for    a    Queen. 


w  ■■: 
I')  ' 


;:  -4.. 


and  colour  and  combination  seemed  represented  in  those 
neatly-kept  flower  beds.  And  never  were  button-hole  bou- 
quets prettier  tham  the  ones  worn  by  the  two  "furriners" 
who  accompanied  the  good  lady  back  to  the  barn  yard  after 
the  examination  of  the  pansy  beds. 

"Where  did  you  ever  get  such  lovely  flowers?"  asked  the 
Sieur  of  the  Gude  wife.  "I  mean  where  did  you  get  the 
"roots  or  the  seed  from  which  you  started  your  flower 
"garden?" 

"Well,  to  tell  you  the  truth,  sir,  I  alwuz  says  that  we 
"should  not  claim  to  own  all  these  beautiful  flowers." 

"Why  who  else  could  make  any  claim  ?"  asked  the  Sieur. 

"Well,  you  see,  sir,  one  day — it  was  two  years  ago  last 
"month — early  in  May,  'the  Bonnie  Leddies'  were  over  here 
" — accompanied  of  course  by  'Old  John.* — ^at  that  time  I 
"only  had  one  flower  bed  and  only  a  few  pansy  roots.  Miss 
"Elfie — she's  the  Laird's  winsome  daughter,  you  know — " 

"No  I  don't  know — never  heard  of  the  'winsome'  young 
"lady  before — I  am  a  stranger  in  these  parts  you  know.  But 
"kindly  proceed  with  your  story  and  then  please  tell  us  all 
"about  the  fair  young  lady." 

"Well,"  continued  the  Gude  wife,  "Miss  Elfie  asked  me  if 
"1  was  very  fond  of  pansies.  I  suppose  she  asked  me  that 
"because  she  saw  I  had  a  few  in  my  one  flower  bed — ^the  one 
"just  under  that  nearest  window.  I  told  her  I  just  loved 
"them.  'So  do  I,*  says  she,  'and  if  you  like  to  make  some 
"  'more  flower  beds  I  will  get  Old  John  when  he  is  weeding 
"  'and  thinning  out  our  beds  this  week  to  bring  you  several 
"  'roots.'  I  thanked  her  kindly  of  course,  and  within  two  or 
"three  days  Old  John  came  walking  over  from  Summertrees 
"with  a  big  basket  on  his  arm,  and  he  says — says  he  to  me — 
"'The  Bonnie  Leddies' — he  alwuz  calls  'em  'the  Bonnie 
"  'Leddies' — 'asked  me  to  bring  over  these  few  pansy  roots 
"  'with  their  compliments,  and  hoping  they  will  g^ow  well 
'  'and  make  you  very  happy.'  Them  were  his  exact  words. 
"Fancy  saying  a  'few  pansy  roots' — why  there  must  have 
"been  over  a  hundred:  there  were  enough  anyway  to  fill 
"these  beds.    But  they  are  so  good-hearted  and  kind.  Every- 


The   Search    for    a    Queen, 


M7 


■ 


I 


"one  who  knows  them  just  loves  'the  Bonnie  Leddies'  of 
*'i)ummertrees." 

"  vVell,"  said  the  Sieur  with  a  gay  laugh,  "I  see  your  Gude 
"man  is  waiting  patiently  for  lis.  Suppose  we  all  get  in  the 
"pretty  weggon  and  start  out  and  then  en-route — I  mean 
"on  the  way  to  'the  Corners'  or  'the  Sue' — whichever  it  is — 
"you  can  tell  my  friend  and  me  all  about  the  Bonnie  Led- 
"dies/  so  that  we  can  love  them  too — so  to  speak." 

■  jjut  there  is  one  thing  I  was  nearly  forgetting,  our  kind 
"host;  which  way  are  you  going  to  drive?  We  left  some 
"goods  and  things  down  near  the  shore  by  our  Camp  Fire — 
"where  we  slept  last  night — down  near  the  end  of  your  cow 
"path.  Could  we  not  get  them  and  store  them  in  your  barn 
"until  we  come  back  or  need  them  again — that  is  such  things 
"as  we  won't  need  for  the  present  ?" 

"Sartainly,"  replied  the  farmer,  "but  I  am  not  going  to 
"drive  that  way — in  fact  our  road  goes  this  other  way.  I 
"wul  go  with  you  and  help  you  bring  your  stuff  and  the 
"Gude  wife  can  come  with  us  if  she  likes  or  stay  here  till 
"we  come  back.  The  horses  will  stand  quietly  till  we 
"return." 

"The  Gude  Wife"  wished  to  go  with  the  others :  she  said  it 
was  a  lovely  day  and  she  would  like  the  walk — and  she 
aaded:  "I  have  not  been  down  to. the  lake  shore  for  some 
"time  and  I  would  like  to  see  the  blue  water  again." 

So  the  Gude  wife  went  with  her  husband  and  "the  fur- 
riners."  Her  jolly  husband  said,  (this  was  in  reply  to  the 
apology  made  by  the  Sieur  with  reference  to  the  loss  of  time 
involved  in  connection  with  the  bringfing  of  the  stuff  up  to 
the  bam):  "'Ijoss  of  time'!  we're  not  in  any  hurry — the 
"Gude  wife  or  me.  This  is  a  Holiday.  Whenever  we  go  to 
"  'the  Comers*  we  take  all  day  for  it,  generally  a  couple  of 
"days — ^and  make  a  holiday  out  of  it.  So  we're  in  no  hurry. 
"We  don't  c^^re  whether  we  get  back  to-night  or  to-morrow 
"night,  do  we,  my  dear?"  (this  enquiry  being  addressed  to 
his  good  wife). 

"Not  a  bit,  gudeman,"  replied  his  wife.  This  conversa- 
tion took  place  whilst  the  party  were  traveling  along  the 
cow-path  to  the  lake  shore. 


148 


The    Search   [or   a    Queen. 


When  they  reached  the  Camping  Ground  the  Gude  wife 
said  she  would  go  and  walk  along  the  sandy  beach  whilst 
the  folks  got  their  goods  together.  It  did  not  take  them 
five  minutes  to  do  this  and  then  they  joined  the  lady  on  the 
beach.  They  found  her  sitting  on  a  log  and  idly  throwing 
stones  into  the  water.  She  said  to  her  husband :  "Oh,  this 
"is  so  lovely  down  here.  We  really  must  often  come  and 
"sit  down  here  by  the  water's  edge.    It  is  not  far  to  come." 

"It  really  is  a  lovely  spot,  my  dear,"  answered  her  good 
man,  "and  we  must  really  try  and  arrange  to  come  down 
"here  oftener."  Then  when  the  lady  saw  they  were  all  ready 
she  got  up  and  said:  "I  don't  want  to  keep  you  folks 
"waiting."  And  they  all  started  to  walk  back  to  the  waiting 
team.  There  was  not  much  to  carry :  Machelle  carried  the 
blankets,  neatly  rolled  together — their  host  carried  the  cook- 
ing utensils  and  some  other  "traps" — and  the  Sieur,  who 
gallantly  escorted  the  Gude  wife,  carried  a  rather  heavy 
little  bag.  They  looked  so  enquiringly  at  the  little  bag  that 
the  Sieur  said :  "Madame — I  see  you  look  rather  wonder- 
"ingly  at  this  little  bag :  it  contains  a  few  Yens — that  is  all. 
"Not  so  many  perhaps  after  all — ^but  still  sufficient  to  pur- 
"chase  a  few  Ribbons  and  Laces  and  a  'Pedlar's  Pack'  in 
"which  to  put  them." 

"I  heard  you  use  that  word  'Yens'  before — and  I  won- 
"dered  what  kind  of  a  foreigfn  word  it  was.  Do  you  mean 
"money?" 

"Yes,  madame,"  answered  the  Sieur. 

"Ihen  why  don't  you  say  'money'?"  she  asked,  with  a 
laugh,  "so  that  we  plain  country-folk  would  understand  you. 
"You  know" — she  added — "you  two  gentlemen  are  the  first 
"and  only  furriners  we  have  seen  in  these  'ere  parts,  and 
"we  have  lived  here  a  good  many  years." 

Then  the  Gude  Lady  called  out  to  her  husband,  who  was 
walking  ahead  with  Machelle:  "Gudeman — ^how  many 
"years  is  it  since  we've  been  married?  You  know  I'm  no 
"hand  to  remember  dates  or  figures — and  he's  a  fust  class 
"hand  at  'em." 

"Twenty-sax  years  come  Michaelmas,"  promptly  answered 


The   Search   for  a    Queen. 


149 


was 
any 
no 
:lass 


; 


the  gallant  husband — "and  twenty-sax  happy  years  have 
"tney  been,  dear." 

"I  am  sure  of  that,"  said  Machelle. 

"bo  am  I,"  said  the  Sieur. 

"But  are  you  really  going  to  be  Pedlars?"  asked  the 
Lady. 

"Yes,"  answered  Machelle,  "that  is  the  present  calcula- 
"tioo." 

"Won't  that  be  lovely !"  said  the  Gudewife.  "I  never  saw 
"a  Pedlar  afore,  and  often  have  thought  I  would  like  to  see 
"one  and  have  one  come  to  my  house  a-selling  Ribbons  and 
"Laces  and  things.  I  have  read  about  'em  in  books  and 
"newspapers." 

"Are  there  no  Pedlars  in  this  part  of  the  country?"  asked 
the  oieur. 

"I  never  heard  tell  of  one  in  these  parts,"  answered  their 
host. 

"Do  you  think  the  Profession  would  pay  in  this  part  of 
"the  country — that  is,  would  it  be  a  profitable  avocation  or 
"calling?"  asked  the  Sieur. 

"Them  is  dreadful  learned  words,  stranger,"  answered 
the  Gude  man,  "but  I  think  I  catch  your  meaning:  I  think 
"it  should  pay  very  well.  There  are  only  two  stores — the 
"two  shops  at  'the  Corners' — for  miles  and  miles — and  most 
"people  have  to  travel  a  long,  long  way  to  reach  a  sto'.  If 
"you  carried  a  good  stock  of  dry  goods  and  'sundries,*  as 
"they  call  'em  I  think — with  you  in  yo'  pack — you  should  do 
"wery  well :  that  is  if  yo*  prices  were  right — and  if  you  were 
"good  salesmen." 

"There's  a  lot  of  'ifs'  in  that  little  speech  of  yourn,  Gude 
"man,"  said  Machelle;  "in  a  word,  now,  don't  you  think 
"if  we  lay  in  a  nice  little  stock  of  Ribbons  and  Laces  we 
"could  do  fairly  well?" 

"Yes,  if—" 

"Oh  never  mind  the  'if,'  my  friend,"  answered  Machelle, 
with  a  gay  laugh ;  "we'll  come  back,  maybe,  to  your  home- 
"stead  to-morrow  and  sell  you  our  entire  purchase  at  an 
"advance — that  is  to  say,  profit— of  one  hundred  per  cent  !'* 
and  then  they  all  laughed. 


ISO 


The  Search   for   a    Queen, 


By  this  time  they  ihad  oome  in  sight  of  the  barn,  and 
"Moll"  and  "Dobbin"  neighed  gladly  in  welcome. 

"What  dear  old  horses  they  are  to  be  sure!"  said  the 
Sieur,  going  up  to  the  patient  creatures  and  caressing  them. 

"That  they  are,  sir,"  said  the  Gude  wife,  taking  out  of 
her  hand  bag  or  reticule  or  shopping  bag — or  whatever  it 
was — 2i  couple  of  sweet  biscuits  and  putting  one  in  Moll's 
mouth  and  one  in  Dobbin's.  In  the  meantime  the  Gude  man 
and  Machelle  stowed  away  in  a  comer  of  the  bam  the  blan- 
kets and  other  "traps."  "I  will  keep  these  Yens,"  said  the 
Sieur,  "we  may  need  them  down  to  'the  Corners'  or  'the  Sue,* 
"or  whatever  it  is  called." 

Them  they  all  got  in  and  their  journey  long  and  tedious 
of  "saxteen  miles  and  a  bittoch" — as  our  Scotch  friends  say 
^-commenced. 

"I've  been  cogitating  quite  a  bit  over  the  funny  name 
"some  people  apparently  give  to  'the  Comers',"  said  Ma- 
chelle.   "How  do  you  spell  it — *Soo'  or  'Sue,'  or  how  ?" 

"I've  seen  it  spelt  both  ways,"  answered  the  Lady ;  "but  I 
"think  the  right  way  must  be  'Sue.*  ** 

"Why  that's  a  girl's  name — ^a  lady's  name — is  it  not?" 
enquired  Machelle. 

"To  be  sure,"  answered  the  Lady ;  "it  is  said  to  be  called 
"'Sue'  after  Sis  Susan  Jackson — that  is  the  -wife  of  Old 
"Brer  Jackson — ^the  sto'  keeper  at  'the  Comers.'  ** 

"You  don't  say  so,"  said  the  Sieur ;  "isn't  that  interesting, 
"Machelle?" 

"Indeed  it  is,"  that  gentleman  answered;  "perfectly 
"romantic  and  picturesque."  Then  their  fair  informant  con- 
tinued : 

"When  some  people  wish  to  'put  on  style* — as  the  saying 
"is — ^and  to  speak  very  formally  and  learnedly — as  it  were — 
"they  do  not  simply  call  'the  Corners'  'the  Sue'  but  'the 
"  'Susan  Mary'." 

"  'The  Susan  Mary*  ?"  repeated  the  Sieur ;  "why  that 
"sounds  like  the  name  of  a  'Stone  Hooker'  on  the  classic 
"Cattawaul  River !" 

"I  don't  know  nothing  about  your  'Stone  Hookers* — as 
"you  call  'em — whatever  they  may  be — or  about  your  'classic 


i 


.-.•-UJ--^--   -A 


KiiiMif.'. 


The   Search   for   a   Queen. 


151 


f 


"  'Cattawaul  River ;'  I  never  did  know  much  about  them  'ere 
"foreign  parts :  but  I  know  Sis  Jackson's  name  in  full  is  *Sis 
"  'Susan  Mary  Jackson.'  I  saw  it  to  onct  writ  in  full  on  a 
"small  piece  of  pasteboard — I  think  they  call  'em  visiting 
"cards,  which  the  sto'  keeper's  lady  left  at  Summertrees. 
"The  way  it  was  was  this :  I  had  gone  to  visit  'the  Bonnie 
"  'Leddies'  and  to  take  a  cup  of  tea  with  them  and  Old  John. 
"When  I  reached  the  house  I  found  the  young  leddies  had 
"gone  a-trout-fishing  with  the  Laird.  So  I  sat  down  and 
"had  a  quiet  cup  of  tea  with  Old  John.  Whilst  we  wuz 
"a-sippin'  of  our  tea  a  knock  comes  to  the  front  do'.  And 
"Old  John  went  to  see  who  it  was  and  he  came  back  in  a 
"few  minutes  holdin*  atween  his  fingers — or  rather  between 
"one  of  his  thumbs  and  one  of  his  fingers — a,  little,  shiny- 
"white,  stiflf  piece  of  card-hoard  or  paste-board,  and  on  it 
"was  written: 

"*Sis  Susan  Mary  Jackson, 
"  'The  Corners/ 

"  'New  Ontario/  " 

"You  don't  say  so !"  said  the  Sieur,  with  a  gay  laugh. 

"But  I  do,"  answered  the  Gude  wife ;  "and  Old  John  said 
"to  me,  'What'll  I  do  -with  this  'ere?  She  says  to  me  when 
"  'she  comes  to  the  do' — or  rather  when  I  got  to  the  do'  arter 
"  'she  had  knocked — ^*Is  yo'  missuses  in  Mr.  Old  John  ?' 
"'speaking  quite  solemn  and  formal  like.  'No,  ma'am, 
"  'neither  of  the  Bonnie  Leddies  is  in  just  this  present  minit. 
"  'The  fac'  is,  ma'am,  they  both  went  out  to  the  stream  this 
"  'momin'  arter  breakfast  with  the  Laird  a-trout-fishin'. 
"'Will  you  please  to  sit  down  an'  wait  till  they  return? 
"  'They  won't  be  long  now,  as  it  is  a-gettin'  well  on  in  the 
"  'arternoon  and  they'll  be  comin*  back  to  dinner.'  Then 
"  'she  answered  wery  formal  and  stiffly  like :  'No,  I  thank 
"  'you,  I'll  just  leave  my  card.'  And  she  handed  me  this 
"  'little  thing  and  got  in  her  buggy  or  waggin  or  whatever 
"  'it  might  be  and  her  hired  man  drove  her  away.'  Well, 
"when  'the  Bonnie  Leddies'  and  the  Laird  came  back 
" — it  wuz  only  a  few  minits  afterwards — we  all  had  a  hearty 
"laugh.    The  Laird  says,  says  he,  'You  see  Mrs.  Jackson 


152 


The   Search    for   a    Queen. 


H  t  I 


has  just  come  back  from  a  visit  she  has  been  making  to 

friends  in  Little  Muddy  York  and  she  probably  has  been 
in  society*  there/  says  he." 

"Anyway  I  have  heard,"  continued  the  Gude  wife,  "that 
"people  are  commencing  more  and  more  to  pronounce  the 
"name  of  'the  Corners'  in  full  and  to  call  it  'the  Susan  Mary' 
"instead  of  'the  Sue.'  " 

"  'The  Comers'  is  good  enough  for  me,"  said  her  husband 
with  a  laugh. 

"And  for  me  too,"  said  his  wife.* 

Just  then  we  overtook  on  the  road  a  little  old  man  trudg- 
ing along  carrying  a  lamb  on  his  shoulder. 

"What  have  you  got  there,  Old  John?"  asked  our  host. 

"Oh  it  is  one  of  our  wee  Lambies — it  strayed  away  from 
"the  flock  someway — and  I've  had  quite  a  time  hunting  it  up 
"I  can  tell  you.  But  it  is  all  right  now  and  will  soon  be 
"home.  I  was  afraid  that  it  might  have  got  caught  tight  in 
"some  underbrush  somewhere  or  other — or  that  some  dog 
"might  have  worried  it.  They  don't  often  get  away  from 
"our  flock.    I  look  arter  them  pretty  close." 

"I  know  you  do,"  said  our  host. 

Then  the  Gude  Wife  said,  "how's  'the  Bonnie  Leddies' 
"this  morning,  Old  John?" 

"Fust  rate,"  answered  the  faithful  old  servant.  "Fust 
"rate,  thankee  kindly.    Are  you  coming  up  to  see  us?" 

"Not  just  now.  Old  John — ^but  we'll  try  and  look  in  for 
"a  cup  of  tea  on  our  way  back  from  *tbe  Corners.' " 

"Oh,  you  be  a  goin'  to  'the  Sue,'  be  you?"  ask-ed  Old  John. 

"Yes,  we're  making  that  way,"  answered  the  Gudeman. 

"Well,  then,  do  you  mind  waiting  just  ten  minutes,  and 
"I'll  just  take  this  short  trail  through  the  bush  and  leave 
"this  wee  lambie  with  li€r  mother,  who  I  know  will  be  fret- 
"ting  arter  her;  and  then  I'll  slip  into  the  house  and  see  if 

♦The  Translator  wonders  if  the  present  thriving  "twin  cities  of 
Sault  Ste.  Marie"  are  the  successors  of  "the  Corners"  of  "the  Susan 
Mary,"  whiuh  apparently  existed  in  the  halycon  days  of  His  Majesty, 
Kin*?  William  the  Fourth.  The  subject,  from  an  antiquarian  point  of 
view,  is  an  Interestlni?  one.  Perhaps  the  places  are  not  the  same, 
because  it  is  currently  believed  that  the  name,  "Le  Sault  de  Salnte 
Marie,"  refers  to  the  ?laplds  or  Falls  in  the  St.  Mary  River  at  ihe 
point  where  the  present  towns  are  situated:  the  word  "Sault"  in  ihe 
French  languagre  signifying  "Jump"  or  "Leap"— the  jump  or  leap 
of  the  River  St.  Mary:  the  word  being  pronounced  "So"  not  "Soo"  or 
"Sue." 


The   Search   for    a    Queen. 


153 


"the  'Bonnie  Leddics*  or  the  Laird  would  like  anything 
"down  at  'the  Comers.'  I  won't  keep  you  long.  Do  ye 
"mind  waiting?" 

"Not  a  bit,"  answered  our  kindly  host.  We  would  do 
"more  than  that  for  any  of  you  folks  at  Summertrees.  See 
"what  you've  done  for  us." 

Before  our  host  had  quite  finished  his  little  speech  the 
faithful  old  man  with  a  friendly  nod  had  started  to  hurry 
through  the  woods,  still  tenderly  carrying  on  his  shoulder 
the  "wee  lambie,"  as  he  called  it. 

"Is  that  the  'Old  John'  you  mentioned  to  us?"  asked  the 
Sieur,  addressing  himsielf  to  the  Gude  Wife — "the  one  who 
"brought  you  the  Pansies?" 

"Yes,  and  a  dear  old  man  he  is  to  be  sure,"  answered  the 
Lady.    "Hie  is  part  and  parcel  of  Summertrees,  so  he  is." 

"Where  is  Summertrees?"  asked  Machelle;  "is  it  far  from 
"here?*- 

"By  rights  we  are  on  the  Estate  now,"  answered  the 
Gudeman.  "The  line  used  to  run  about  half  a  mile  to  the 
"westward,  but  Old  Man  Covet  Grab — more's  the  pity — has 
"gradually — little  by  little — got  jx)ssession  of  the  lands  of 
"the  Estate  until  now  they  do  say  the  only  land  left  to  the 
"poor  Laird  out  of  the  whole  sax  hundred  and  forty  acres 
"which  they  say  was  once  called  'Summertrees'  is  the  land 
"on  which  the  old  Homestead  is  built  and  the  garden  and  a 
"little  bush  round  it." 

"Why,  this  is  awful — perfectly  awful!"  exclaimed  the 
Sieur.  "Who  is  this  'Old  Man  Covet  Grab' — as  you  call 
"him?  and  how  does  he  come  to  be  able  to  take  all  this  land 
"away  from  these  people?" 

"Aye,  please  tell  us,"  said  Machelle  anxiously. 

"Well,  I  cannot  explain  all  about  it,  but  as  far  as  I've 
"heard  there  were  what  they  call  mortgages  on  the  Estate 
"at  the  time  the  present  Liird  came  into  possession.  And 
"in  trying  to  get  out  of  his  present  troubles  the  poor  Laird 
"only  got  further  involved  in  some  way  or  other.  The 
"whole  thing  is  so  tangled  up  that  no  one  rightly  under- 
"stands  it.  But  one  thing  seems  certain,  and  that  is  Old 
"Man  Covet  Grab  has  now  got  nearly  all  the  Estate,  and 


hi"- 

•7" 


154 


The   Search   fo,r   a    Queen, 


"they  do  say  that  h«  has  his  eye  and  his  hand,  too,  on  the 
"remaining  few  acres." 

"No,  surely  not!"  exclaimed  both  men. 

"So  I've  heard,**  answered  their  host.  "And  that  is  what 
"  'Old  John'  thinks  himself.  He  says  he  understands  the 
"old  miser — ^that  is  Old  Man  Covet  Grab — has  one  of  those 
"dreadful  things — 'mortgages,'  I  think  they  call  'em — on 
"the  old  homestead  and  on  the  remaining  two  or  three 
"acres;  the  sixth  mortgage,  I  think  he  calls  it;  as  far  as  I 
"understand  it,  there  were  five  mortgages  which  have  al- 
"ready  been  foreclosed.  And  the  old  miser  threatens  to 
"foreclose  this  sixth  mortgage  very  shortly.  In  fact,  from 
"what  Old  John  told  me  only  two  or  three  days  ago,  he  is 
"afraid,  I  believe,  that  they  may  be  'turned  out  of  house  and 
"  'home' — as  the  saying  is — any  day." 

"No?"  said  the  Sieur. 

"I  am  afraid  it  is  only  too  true,"  said  the  Gude  Wife. 
"Old  John  has  been  very  sad  about  the  matter  lately ;  he  is 
"often  over  at  our  house,  you  know,  as  we  are  such  close 
"neighbors.  Well,  the  very  last  time  he  was  over  he  almost 
"cried  when  he  spoke  about  the  matter — and  he  said  'oh. 
"'my  puir  "Bonnie  Leddies"!'" 

"How  many  yens  would  it  take  to  pay  oflf  that  sixth 
"mortgage?"  inquired  the  Sieur. 

"I  don't  know,  I'm  sure — but  it  would  take  a  lot  of 
"money." 

By  this  time  Old  John  was  seen  hurrying  back  across  the 
trail  through  the  woods.  In  a  few  minutes  he  reached  the 
waggon,  and  leaning  over  towards  the  Gude  Wife  he  said — 
kind  of  sotto  voce  like  but  still  loud  enough  for  the  would-be 
pedlars  to  hear  him — in  fact,  they  could  not  help  hearing 
what  hie  said,  as  he  spoke  in  a  very  loud  whisper — what  is 
sometimes  called  a  "stage  whisper" — "The  'Bonnie  L  eddies' 
"would  like  two  or  three  ribbands — a  piece  of  blue  and  a 
"piece  of  pink  and  a  piece  of  crimson — here's  a  little  note 
"about  it"  (and  here  the  old  man  handed  to  the  Gude  Wife 
a  small  piece  of  paper  folded  and  twisted  in  that  pecuHar 
way  young  ladies  sometimes  fold  their  notes  as  well  as  their 
curl-papers)  "and — if  your  Gudeman  doesn't  mind,  would 


t 


The   Search    for    a   Queen, 


155 


"he  get  a  pound  of  Tobacco  for  the  Laird  and  me.  We're 
"nearly  out  and  that's  a  fact.  Your  Gudeman  knows  the 
"kind  of  Tobacco  the  Laird  smokes.  Old  Man  Jackson 
"always  keeps  it  in  his  sto'.  Here  is  enough  money  to  pay 
"for  all.    If  it  takes  morti  let  us  know  when  you  return." 

"Alright,  Old  John,  tell  the  folks  we'll  be  sure  and  re- 
"member  to  get  the  things,  and  we'll  call  in  on  our  way 
"hom€.    Good-bye." 

Audi  once  more  the  waggon  was  again  a-rumbling  and 
a-creaking  along  the  dusty  road.  In  a  few  minutes  the  trav- 
ellers i>assed  a  road  running  to  the  southward. 

"That  is  the  regular  road  into  Summertree — the  waggon 
"road,"  explained  the  Gudeman.  In  fact  some  of  the  chim- 
neys of  the  old  Homestead  and  some  part  of  its  gabled  roof 
could  be  seen  from  the  main  road  as  the  waggon  passed 
along — ^the  old  Hbmestead  being  built  on  a  little  hill  or 
"rise"  at  the  end  of  the  cross-roads. 

In  a  few  minutes  afterwards  they  camei  to  an  old  Log 
House  standing  near  the  roadside  with  a  good-sized  "clear- 
"ing"  in  a  fair  state  of  cultivation  behind  it. 

"Just  excuse  me  a  minute,  gentlemen,"  said  the  Gudeman 
getting  down  from  the  waggon  and  handing  the  "ribbon*;" 
— I  mean  the  reins — to  the  Gude  Wife — "these  people  are 
"also  neighbors! — I  will  just  ask  them  if  we  can  get  anything 
"for  them  when  we  are  dbwn  to  'the  Comers.' " 

In  five  minutes  the  Gudieman  returned  and  said  with  a 
smile,  "there  are  no  ribbons  or  laces  required  here — noth- 
"ing  but  a  couple  of  pour»ds  of  granulated  sugar  and  half  a 
"pound  of  Young  Hyson  Tea." 

Then  the  horses  and  the  waggon  jogged  along  again. 

In  a  minute  or  two  afterwards  the  Gude  Wife  said : 

"I  have  been  a  thinking — would  it  not  be  a  good  idea  for 
"us  simply  to  buy  the  Tobacco  for  the  folks  at  Summer- 
"trees — and  then  let  you  two  gentlemen  Pedlars  sell  to  the 
"Bonnie  Leddies  the  ribbons  they  require." 

"That  would'  be  a  first  rate  idea,"  "aid  the  Sieur. 

"Capital,"  said  Machelle — "it  is  indeed  a  'happy  thought' 
" — as  the  saying  is.  We  will  have  them  for  our  first  cus- 
"tomers." 


■'jai 


pipppipniilliiiifmiiii|i|il  iJii!lMi.^iiP'i' ' '  J^.n 


«56 


The    Search   for   a    Queen. 


"What  I  wuz  a  thinking,"  continued  the  Gude  Wife,  "is 
"this:  here  are  people  who  are  really  anxious  and  desirous 
"to  buy  some  Ribbons.  You  are  going  into  that  business  and 
"will  soon  be  really  anxious  and  desirous  to  sell  some  Rib- 
"bons.  Now  of  course  the  order  is  a  very  small  one,  but  it 
"will  be  a  start  for  you.  Everything  has  to  have  a  com- 
"mencemeiit.  1  daresay,  even  old  man  Jackson  at  'the  Sue' 
"had  to  start  in  a  small  way  when  he  commenced.  And 
"then  again  it  should  be  a  help  to  you  arterwards  in  yo' 
"bizness  as  Pedlars  to  say  that  yo'  first  sale  was  a  sale  of 
"some  Ribbons  to  'the  Bonnie  Leddies'  at  Summertrees." 

"Right  you  are,  Gude  Wife,"  said  her  husband.  "It  will 
"help  them  all  over  the  country  side.  Everyone  loves  'the 
"  'Bonnie  Leddies,'  as  their  Old  John  so  lovingly  calls  'em. 
"And  as  to  commencing  bizness  in  a  small  way:  I've  heard 
"old  man  Jackson  say  his  own  self  that  his  first  sale  was  a 
"box  of  matches  for  eighteen  cents." 

"Wie  are  ever  so  much  obliged  to  you  kind  people  for  all 
"your  kindness,"  said  thei  Sieur.  "I'll  tell  you  what  we'll  do: 
"We'll  go  down  to  'the  Corners'  or  'the  Sue'  or  whatever 
"it  is  called  with  you  folks — and  there  we'll  buy  our  Ped- 
"lars  Pack — and  a  supply  of  Ribbons  and  Laces  and  then — 
"if  yo\i  will  bring  us  back  with  you  as  far  as  'Summertrees  on 
"your  return  we  will  go  in  there  and  make  our  first  sale."   . 

"How's  that,  Machelle?" 

"First  rate,"  answered  that  gentleman. 

"Now,  before  we  forget  it,  perhaps  you  had  better  hand  to 
"me  that  little  order  concerning  the  Ribbons  which  'Old 
"  'John' — ^as  you  call  the  gentleman — gave  you  just  now. 
"We  will  need  to  have  it,  perhaps,  as  a  Bill  of  Specifications 
"or  whatever  it  is  called." 

Here  the  Gude  Wife  took  out  of  her  reticule  or  hand 
bag  the  little  folded  And  twisted  piece  of  paper  and  handed 
it  to  the  Sieur,  who  said : 

"I  suppose  there  is  no  harm  in  my  opening  this  little 
"document  and  reading  it  now — seeing  that  my  friend  and 
"I  are — as  it  were — Pedlars  de  facto,  even  if  not  de  jure." 

"Them's  awful  learned'-sounding  words,"  said  the  Gude 
Wife;  "but  I  never  did  know  much  about  any  foreign  lan- 
"guage.    You're  the  f^irst  furriners  we  ever  see." 


u 


1..        -5-^^         Vii«t-  j.^Sh^^ 


The   Search   for   a    Queen. 


157 


On  opening  the  note  the  Sieur  found  and  read  aloud  the 
following  words  and  figures,  which  were  written  in  a  pretty 
feminine  hand: 

"l  yard  blue  ribbon  ^  in.  wide. 
**i     do    pink        "    do    do 
"i    do    crimson  "    do    do 

"Alright,"  continued  the  Sieur,  "I  will  see  that  t^is  little 
"order  is  properly  filled." 

Then  Mlachelle  said:  "But  you  never  told  us  who  'Old 
"  'Man  Covet  Grab,'  as  you  called  him,  is." 

"Wa'al,  you  never  want  to  get  in  his  clutches,  young 
"man,"  said  their  host,  "or  you'll  find  it  hard  work  to  get 
"out.    Hie  is  what  you  call  a  'money  lender.' " 

"And  what  are  'the  Bonnie  Leddies'  called?"  asked  the 
Sieur.  "They  surely  have  some  other  names  besides  that 
"pretty  appellation  and  term  of  endearment." 

Then  the  Gude  Wife  continued: 

"The  Laird's  Daughter  is  called  ^Elfie' — ^the  other  is 
"  'Retta.'  She  is  the  Laird's  niece;  but  the  two  are  always 
"together  and  people  often  take  them  for  sisters.  Elfie  is 
"fair,  with  tresses  of  gold,  and  she  has  beautiful  blue  eyes. 
"Retta  is  what  might  be  called  a  Brunette — she  has  dark — 
"very  dark  eyes — and  her  hair  is  also  dark." 
'  "Thank  you,  iMadame,"  said  Machelle.  "With  that  de- 
"scription  we  should  be  able  to  tell  'the  Bonnie  Leddies'  if 
"we  met  them  anywhere — I  fancy." 

Then  as  they  jogged  along  they  got  talking  about  "the 
"Sue"  again:  Machelle  asked  how  many  people  were  living 
at  "the  iCorners." 

The  Gudeman  said:  "You'll  not  find  it  a  very  big  place. 
"There  are  the  two  stores  or  shops:  old  man  Jackson's  and 
"  'the  new  store' — as  they  still  call  it — but  'young  Mr. 
"  'Brown' — as  they  still  call  him — has  been  there  a  good 
"many  years  now — and  has  children  most  grown  up.  Old 
"man  Jackson  of  course  has  been  there  a  very  long  time — 
"he  was  one  of  the  fust  men  to  come  into  this  part  of  the 
"country.  He  is  not  an  unfriendly  sort  of  man  when  you  get 
"to  know  him,  but  you'll  think  him  rather  odd — perhaps — 
"first  when  you  see  him  and  when  you  first  hear  him  talk. 


158 


The   Search   for   a    Queen. 


w- 


"He  talks  a  great  deal — and  kind  of  'biggity'  sometimes. 
"And  people  do  say  sometimes  that  old  man  Jackson  likes 
**to  hear  hisself  talk.  Howsomever,  he  does  stand  some- 
"times  in  a  peculiar  sort  of  way  and  hold  his  head  to  one 
"side  when  he  is  a-talkin'  as  if  he  was  listenin'  to  hisself  talk. 
"His  wife  is  the  Lady  the  Gude  Wife  told  you  about — Sis 
"Susan  Miary  Jackson.  Old  Man  Jackson  is  a  good  bizness 
"man — there's  no  doubt.  When  he  wuz  a  lad  he  went  to  a 
"Bizness  Collidge  down  there  at  Little  Muddy  York — and 
"what  he  don't  know  about  Bizness  ain't  worth  knowing. 
"He  is  a  great  hand  for  figures,  too.  He'll  look  at  a  load  of 
"cordwood  when  it  is  on  a  waggon  or  a  sleigh  and  size  is  up 
"quicker'n  any  man  I  ever  saw,  and  he'll  say,  'Bill,  there's 
"  'just  three  quarters  of  a  cord  there  if  you'll  throw  on  the 
"  'load  three  more  sticks,'  or  he'll  look  at  a  load  of  hay  and 
*'say,  'Wa'al,  John,  I  should  think  if  there  were  six  good 
"  'forks full  added  there  would  be  fifteen  hunder  pound  in 
"'that  load.'  It  isn't  every  man  that  can  calculate  that 
"close." 

"Noj^  there  ain't  many  such  men,"  said  M.  Miachelle — 
"they're  gettin'  to  be  real  scarce-like." 

"Then  as  to  counterfeit  money,  he  is  a  'terror  to  cats' — 
"as  the  sayin'  is — on  that  score ;  they  do  say  the  old  man  can 
"tell  a  counterfeit  coin  by  the  very  feel  of  it  without  lookin' 
"at  it — but  that  may  be  exaggeration.  When  you  go. into 
"the  sto'  you  will  see  a  great  big  card  hangin'  up  in  the  cen- 
"tre  of  the  sto' — it  has  been  there  ever  since  I  can  remem- 
"ber.    And  it  bears  some  words  like  this  'ere: 


I 


"'WARNIN'! 

"  'Any  person  attemptin'  to  pass  any  counterfeit 
"  'coin  inside  of  dis  'ere  sto'  will  be  prosecuted  ac- 
"  'cordin'  to  Law. 

"•Signed,      JOHN  JACKSON,  Proprietor.'" 

"Well,  Machelle  and  I  will  be  alright  on  that  score  with 
"our  yens.  I  have  not  opened  the  bag  or  looked  at  'em 
"since  I  got  'em  from  the  Bank,  but  I  know  they're  all 
"right.  I  was  in  a  hurry  coming  away  and  I  sent  a  boy 
"over  to  the  Bank  to  get  me  a  few  yens,  and  telling  them  to 
"put  them  in  a  bag  and  here  they  are  safe  and  sound." 


.-■il 


The   Search   for   a    Queen, 


159 


i 
^ 


I 


to 


"Wa'al"  said  the  Gudeman,  after  they  had  traveled  a  lit- 
"tle  further,  "suppose'n  we  stop  here  and  bait  the  horses 
"and  boil  the  tea  kettle  by  the  side  of  the  road — Gypsy  fash- 
"ion — and  take  a  cup  of  tea?  We've  now  got  down  off  the 
"high  lands  and  we  ought  to  make  'the  Sue'  in  another  hour 
"and  a  half  or  two  hours — dependin'  of  course  upon  the 
"roads." 

Machelie  looked  at  his  watch  and  said:  "It  is  nearly  two 
"o'clock.  How  long  do  you  think  it  will  take  you  to  do 
"your  business  at  'the  Corners'  and  get  started  back  again?" 

Said  the  Gudeman — as  he  unhitched  his  horses  and  took 
off  their  bridles  and  let  them  commience  to  eat  for  their 
lunch  the  fresh  and  sweet  wild  grass  and  the  juicy  and  frag- 
rant clover  which  grew  by  the  wayside  in  great  abundance. 
"My  wife  and  I  can  get  through  with  our  business  and  be 
"ready  to  start  back  again  for  home  in  one  hour  from  the 
"time  we  strike  'the  Comers.'  All  our  business  this  time  is 
"to  be  done  in  Brer  Jackson's  sto',  as  I  understand  it.  I 
"haven't  to  go  to  the  blacksmith's  shop  this  trip,  as  I  often 
"have  to.  I'm  glad  of  that.  And  my  wife  don't  have  to  go 
"to  the  Misses  O'Flaberty's  milliner  shop.    Ha!  Ha!  Ha!" 

"What  is  the  matter,  Gudeman?"  asked  the  Sieur. 

"Oh,  I  was  only  a-laughin'  to  myself  about  the  change 
"which  is  a-comin'  over  some  of  the  Ladies  in  this  part  of 
"the  country  since  the  Misses  O'Flahiertv  opened  tli^ir  mil- 
"liner  shop  at  'the  Corners.'  You  see  befo'  that  there  wuz 
"just  two  sto's — Brer  Jackson's  and  'the  new  sto',  as  they 
'call  it — and  of  course  the  Blacksmith's  shop.  Now,  you 
"see  we  hav€  a  real  milliner  shop — opened  about  a  month 
"ago.  Old  Man  O'Flaherty  was  gettin'  along  purty  well 
"and  a-raisin'  purty  good'  crops,  and  as  he  had  two  likely- 
"lookin'  gals  he  thought  he  would  send  'em  to  a  sister  of 
"his'en  who  lives  somewhere  down  below — not  in  Canady 
"but  near  there — in  one  of  the  'New  England  States' — as 
"they  call  'em — 'Boston'  I  think  is  the  name  of  the  town 
"whar  the  sister  lived.  So  the  two  gals  went  down  by  Yprk 
"boat  all  the  way  to  Mout  Royale — and  then  it's  not  far,  I 
"have  heard  tell  to  Boston  and  them  parts.  Howsomever 
"the  next  year  they  came  back  stylish  young  ladies — if  you 


i6o 


The   Search   for    a    Queen. 


:  f-" 


.;■  j. 


"please — a-wearing  kid  gloves  every  day  in  the  week — and 
"putting  their  hair  in  curl-papers  every  night — and  wearing 
"  'frizzes*  and  'bangs'  and  all  sorts  of  things.  And,  right 
"away,  they  opened  up  a  milliner  shop  in  part  of  Brer 
"Brown's  shop — or  rather  in  the  little  building  adjoining  it — 
"you'll  see  when  you  get  to  'the  Corners' — and  they  have  a 
"sign  up  in  front: 

"  'The  Misses  O'Flaherty, 

"  'Milliners  and  Dressmakers 

"  'Au  Qiic' 

"And  in  one  window  they  have  a  big  sign : 

"  'Hats  Trimmed  in  the 
"  'Boston  Style.' 

"and  in  the  other  window  there  is  another  big  piece  of  card- 
"board  bearing  these  wordte: 

"  'Tailor-Made  Costumes  I 
"'Everything  Au  Chic!' 

"The  people  round  'the  Corners'  are  still  trying  to  find  out 
"what  the  words  'Au  Chic'  mean,  and  I've  heard  tell  that 
"Old  Man  Jackson  has  wrote  away  to  a  brother  in  Trois 
"Rivieres,  who  teaches  a  High  School  there,  asking  him 
"exactly  what  the  words  'Au  Chic'  mean.  It  is  only  about 
"a  month  since  the  Misses  O'Flaherty  opened  their  estab- 
"lishment,  but  already  some  very  gorgeous  bonnets  have 
"been  ordered  by  some  of  the  farmers'  wiyes  and  daughters 
"'round  these  Diggings.  And"  (with  a  laugh)  "I'm  gettin' 
"to  be  afraid  that  some  mornin'  at  breakfas'  time  the  Gude 
"Wife'll  say  to  me :  'My  dear,  do  you  think  you  could  spare 
"  *me  five  dollars  in  about  three  weeks  from  now?'  And 
"then  when  I  would  ask  her  what  for,  she  might  say,  'Oh, 
"  'there  is  just  a  love  of  a  bonnet  which  would  just  suit  m'e 
"down  to  "the  Corners"  in  the  Miss  O'Flaherty's  milliner 
"'shop.'    Ha!  Ha!  Ha!" 

Everyone — including  the  Gude  Wife — ^joined  in  the 
laughter.  Then  she  quickly  said,  "I  guess,  dear,  I  can  get 
"along  for  a  while  without  any  of  the  'Chic'  Bonnets  you've 
"been  tellin'  us  about." 


t'F, 


The   Search   for   a    Queen. 


i6i 


out 
hat 
rois 
him 
bout 
tab- 
lave 
Iters 
ttin' 
iude 
pare 
And 
'Oh, 
nre 
iner 

the 

get 

lu've 


And  her  husband  gallantly  said — whilst  the  Sieur  and 
Machelle  murmured  their  approval — *  No  matter  what  Bon- 
"net  you  wear,  it  will  always  look  pretty,  even  if  it  is  not 
"'Chic.'" 

In  a  short  time  the  merry  party  were  again  jogging 
along  en  route  to  "the  Sue." 

"Do  you  find  this  an  easy  way  of  riding,  sir?"  asked  the 
Gudeman  presently,  addtessing  the  Sieur. 

"I  enjoy  it  very  much  indeed,"  that  gentleman  answered. 
"Of  course  I  think  I  prefer  traveling  in  a  'Stone  Hooker' — 
"eh  Machelle  ? — probably  the  picturesque  'stone  hooker'  may 
"have  more  springs  in  its  hull  than  this  craft  seems  to  have 
" — but  I  like  it  very  well — except  when  we  strike  an  extra 
"big  boulder." 

For  some  time  the  team  had  been  able  to  make  better 
progress — the  highlands  having  been  left  behind  and  the 
road  being  freer  from  the  boulders  to  which  the  Sieur  had 
objected,  and  within  a  comparatively  short  time  the  Gude 
wife  was  able  to  say,  as  they  reached  the  top  of  a  small 
grade  or  ascent :    "There's  'the  Sue' — 'the  Corners'  I" 

"Isn't  it  a  lovely  site  for  a  town— even  a  large  city!" 
exclaimed  Machelle.  "And  that  beautiful  River — isn't  it  a 
"beautiful  sheet  of  water !" 

"Yes!"  answered  the  Sieur,  "one  would  think  it  was  the 
"beautiful  and  classic  Cattawaul." 

The  team  stopped  in  front  of  Old  Man  Jackson's  sto'  and 
were  tied  to  a  'hitching  post  which  was  conveniently  planted 
near  the  sto*  door.  "Moll  and  Dobbin  would  not  run  away," 
explained  the  Gude  man  with  a  laugh,  "but  it  is  a  kind  of 
"customary  formality  to  hitch  horses  to  this  post,  and  so  we 
"follow  the  custom." 

"Aye,  aye,"  said  Machelle,  "  'in  Rome  do  as  the  Romans 
"  'do' — as  the  saying  is." 

They  all  went  into  the  sto'  together  and  they  found  the 
fair  "S  Susan  Mary  Jackson"'  "waiting"  in  the  sto'  herself. 
"My  '  band  is  busy  in  his  office,"  she  explained,  "and  so  I 
"am        ting  on  the  customers  in  the  interim." 

(Al  rwards  the  Gude  wife  said  to  her  husband  she  sup- 
posed ijy  the  word  "interim"  Sis  Jackson  meant  the  word 


11 


1 62 


The   S earch   for   a    Queen. 


"sto" — that  it  was  perhaps  more  stylish  and  more  like  the 
way  folks  talked  in  Muddy  Little  York  to  say  "in  the  in- 
"terim"  instead  of  "in  the  sto.") 

"But,"  continued  the  fair  saleswoman,  "I  will  call  him  if 
"you  like." 

"Oh,  no,  Mrs.  Jackson,  you  can  easily  get  us  what  we 
"need,"  and  then  she  gave  her  order — the  few  "pervisions" 
they  needed  themselves—the  tobacco  they  wished  for  the 
gentlemen  at  Summertrees,  and  the  sugar  and  tea  for  the 
neighbors  who,  it  will  be  remembered,  lived  a  little  this  side 
of  Summertrees. 

The  fair  saleswoman  deftly  filled  the  order — frequent 
practice  had  made  her  an  expert,  as  it  were,  and  none  of  the 
goods  contained  in  the  order  were  heavy  to  handle. 

Meanwhile  the  would-be  Pedlars  strolled  round  the  sto' 
and  read  all  the  advertisements  fastened  up  on  the  walls 
appertaining  to  divers  kinds  of  teas,  soaps,  baking  powder 
and  tobacco.  They  also  read  the  two  mottoes  of  the  estab- 
Hshment  which  appeared  in  several  conspicuous  places :  these 
mottoes  were: 

"Live  and  Let  Live,"  and 

"Small  Profits  Ofd  Quick  Returns." 

They  also  stopped  pensively — at  it  were — before  the  warn- 
ing placard  concerning  counterfeit  money,  to  which  their 
new-  found  friends  had  referred,  and  read  it  over,  two  or 
three  times — for  want  of  other  employment. 

By  the  time  they  had  read  the  "warning"  three  times  all 
the  "pervisions"  and  sundries  contained  in  the  order  given 
by  the  Gude  wife  had  been  neatly  put  up  by  the  fair  hands 
of  the  fair  saleswoman. 

Then  the  Gude  wife  said  to  Mrs.  Jackson,  looking  towards 
the  would-be  Pedlars :  "These  two  gentlemen  are  Furriners 
"and  they  are  going  into  the  Perfession  of  Pedlars,"  (at  this 
juncture  the  Sieur  and  his  comrade  each  politely  raised  their 
caps  and  bowed),  "and  they  wish  to  purchase  a  Pedlar's 
"Pack — wTiatevcr  that  may  be — and  a  supply  of  Pibbons 
"and  Laces." 

The  fair  saleswoman  replied:    "Ah,  I  see,  this  is  a  kind 


The   Search    for   a   Queen. 


163 


ce  the 
he  in- 

him  if 

lat  we 

Lsions" 
or  the 
:or  the 
lis  side 

•equent 
:  of  the 

the  sto' 
e  walls 
powder 
e  estab- 
s :  these 


e  warn- 

:h  their 

two  or 

imes  all 
ir  given 
hands 

towards 

irriners 

I  (at  this 

id  their 

»edlar's 

'ibbons 

a  kind 


"of  wholesale  order;  perhaps  I  had  better  call  the  Proprie- 
"tor."  But  there  was  no  necessity  for  calling  that  gentle- 
man ;  "the  office"  in  which  he  was  "working"  was  really  in 
the  store,  or  rather  at  the  back  of  it,  and  only  separated 
from  the  rest  of  the  establishment  by  a  little  railing.  The 
furniture  of  "the  office"  consisted  of  a  big  desk,  a  tall  office 
stool,  some  big  leather-bound  account  books,  several  big 
files  of  "Invoices"  and  "Statements  Current,"  several  little 
long  flat  books  labelled  respectively  "Bills  Payable"  and 
"Bills  Receivable,"  a  couple  of  big  ink  bottles  containing 
bkck  ink— one  containing  red  ink,  two  or  three  pens, 
some  account  paper  and  blotting  paper. 

The  "general  merchant"  &pent  a  good  deal  of  time  in  this 
"office" — "working  at  his  books" — as  his  fair  wife  used 
proudly  to  explain  to  the  customers  on  whom  she  waited, 
and  sometimes  she  would  add:  "You  see.  Sis  Johnsing, 
"Mr.  Jackson  studied  his  Perfession  in  the  Bizness  Collidge 
"at  Little  Muddy  York — and  he  has  to  keep  his  Books  just 
"so.  He  keeps  them  all  by  'Double  Entry.'  I  don't  under- 
"stand  that  system  of  book-keeping  myself — ^but  it  is  all  the 
"style — they  do  tell  me  'down  below'  and  'down  east.'  But 
"of  course  one  has  to  be  eddicatcd  in  a  Bizness  Collidge  in 
"order  to  understand  it," 

From  what  some  people  used  to  say  it  would  have  been  a 
good  thing  for  old  Mr.  Jackson  if  he  had  not  understood  or 
thought  he  understood  the  system  of  Double  Entry  Book 
Keeping — ^because  the  practice  of  it  not  only  seemed  to 
entail  a  large  amount  of  unnecessary  work  and  unnecessary 
copying — ^but  what  was  worse,  even  simple  accounts  became 
so  involved  and  complicated  and  tangled  and  "mixed  up" 
generally  that  sometimes  it  seemed  as  if  it  would  require  a 
whole  college  of  accountants  to  set  them  right.  And  it  was 
also  said  that  some  good  customers  had  left  old  man  Jack- 
son's stb*  and  gone  over  to  the  opposition  establishment 
owing  to  the  very  unsatisfying  way  in  which  the  new  system 
of  book  keeping  seemed  to  affect  their  otherwise  simple 
accounts.  For  instance,  old  Mr.  O'Flaherty  aforementioned 
is  reported  to  have  said  to  a  sympathizing  neighbour:  "I 
"like  old  Brer  Jackson — I  guess  he  is  a  good  merchant  and 


iiiiiiiiiipi 


ippipiiiPPiPin 


164 


The   Search   for   a    Queen, 


ii 


■r 


;:S    -■ 


t 


r 


"understands  the  sto'  bizness.  But  I  do  wish  he  did  not 
"understand  that  Double  Entry  System  of  Book  Figuring, 
"as  they  calls  it.  It  may  be  stylish  and  all  the  loikes  of  that 
" — and  it  may  be  alright  in  big  towns  like  Little  Muddy 
"York,  and  By  Town,*  but  it  is  a  wee  bit  too  complicated 
"for  'the  Corners'  or  'the  Sue,'  as  some  of  the  stylish  folks 
"are  beginning  to  call  it.  Now  one  time  I  had  been  runnin' 
"a  little  account  at  Brer  Jackson's — and  I  owed  Brer  Jack- 
"son  on  that  account  exactly  Forty  Dollars  to  a  cent — 
"neither  more  nor  less.  I  had  received  four  accounts  from 
"time  to  time  from  Brer  Jackson  showing  the  amounts  of 
"the  goods  we  had  got  on  the  four  occasions — ^Brer  Jackson 
"had  written  at  the  top  of  these  four  accounts  the  words 
"  'Statement  Current.'  I  did  not  object  to  that  nor  to  any- 
"thing  in  these  four  accounts.  They  wuz  alright — and  a 
"child  could  add  *em  together  and  make  the  'sum  total' — ^as 
"they  call  it — the  even  Forty  Dollars.  Well  I  sold  Brer 
"Jackson  Ten  and  a  half  tons  of  Hay  at  $7.50  per  ton.  My 
"hay  came  to  $78.75.  There  seemed  no  doubt  as  to  that. 
"Brer  Jackson  admitted  it  himself — ^he  said  there  was  no 
"doubt  I  had  put  into  his  barn  ten  and  a  half  tons  of  first- 
"class  hay — and  he  also  said  the  price  had  been  agreed  on 
"between  us  at  $7.50  per  ton.  He  also  said  there  was  no 
"doubt  his  four  'Statements  Current'  only  amounted  to 
"Forty  Dollars.  So  I  took  for  granted — as  anybody  would 
" — that  there  was  thirty-eight  dollars  and  seventy-five  cents 
"coming  to  me  from  Brer  Jackson.  I  was  not  in  need  of  the 
"money  at  the  time  and  thought  I  would  leave  it  until  the 
"spring,  when  I  wuz  calculatin*  to  have  a  barn-raisin'  over 
"to  our  place.  A  day  or  two  afore  the  time  set  for  the  raisin* 
"I  went  down  to  'the  Corners'  and  said  to  old  Brer  Jackson : 
I  am  havin'  a  barn  riz  on  my  place  and  I  kind  of  thought 
that  little  balance  would  come  in  handy.'  He  said  per- 
"Htely :  'Mr.  O'Flaherty  will  you  kindly  walk  into  the  office' 
" — and  he  gets  me  a  chair  and  he  sits  up  on  his  high  stool 
"and  opens  his  big  books — the  ones  bound  in  leather  you 
"know.    After  he  had  done  a  lot  of  'toting  up' — as  he  called 

*Probably  the  same  place  which  now  in  its  larger  and  amplified 
form  Is  called  "Ottawa"— the  capital  of  the  Dominion  of  Canada.  The 
Translator  understands  the  Capital  City  used  to  be  styled  "By  Town." 


"  t 


The   Search   for   a   Queen. 


i6$ 


did  not 

guring, 

of  that 

Muddy 

plicated 

sh  folks 

runnin' 

»r  Jack- 
cent — 

its  from 

)unts  of 

Jackson 

e  words 
to  any- 

; — ^and  a 

otal' — as 

Did  Br«r 

;on.    My 
to  that. 

I  was  no 
of  first- 

yreed  on 
was  no 

mted  to 
y  would 
ive  cents 
id  of  the 
ntil  the 
in'  over 
e  raisin' 
Tackson : 
thought 
|aid  per- 
le  office' 
|gh  stool 
;her  you 
e  called 

amplifiea 
kada.  The 
Sy  Town." 


\ 


a  ( 


«  < 


«  < 


**it,  with  a  pencil,  he  rubbed  his  head  several  times  and  then 
"said  in  a  kind  of  dazed  way:  'It  does  seem  awfully 
"  'strange.'  'What  seems  strange,  Brer  Jackson  ?'  says  I. 
"  'Well,'  he  says,  *I  really  thought  I  owed  you  $38.75.'  'So 
"  'you  do,'  says  I ;  'but  if  it  is  not  convenient  I  can  come 
"  'again,  Brer  Jackson — I  ain't  in  any  purticular  hurry — and 

everyone  knows  you're  "as  good  as  the  wheat" — ^as  the 

saying  is — but  I  know  you  merchants  must  often  have 
"  'large  bills  to  pay— and— '  'But  it  is  not  that,  Mr.  O'Fla- 
"  'herty,'  he  said,  a  rubbin'  of  his  head  again.  'The  fact  is — 
"  'this  "Ledger  Account"  brings  you  in  debt  to  me  in  $38.75.' 
"  'It  can't  be,'  says  I,  bewildered  like ;  'there  must  be  a  mis- 
"  'take  somewheres.'     'No,  sir,  there  cannot  be  a  mistake 

anywheres — ^becos  my  books    are    always    kept    Double 

Entry.  If  they  were  simply  kept  Single  Entry  there 
"  'might  be  room  for  a  mistake.' 

"  'Well,  please  tote  it  up  agin,'  says  I,  'and  see  if  those 
"  'books  of  youm  cannot  bring  you  in  owing  me  $38.75.' 

"Well  he  tried  and  tried  and  rubbed  his  head  and  looked 
"up  dozens — aye,  scores  of  entries — ^and  he  could  not  make 
"it  come  out  anything  else,  but  that  I  owed  him  $38.75. 

"Says  he — 'I  don't  understand  it;  all  the  entries  seem  to 
*'  'have  been  properly  entered  in  the  "Day  Book"  and  then 
"  *  "Journalized" — then  they  have  been  carried  into  the 
"'"Stock  Account"  and  the  "Merchandize  Account"  and 
"'into  the  "Cash  Account,"  and  finally  they  have  been 
" '  "posted"  into  the  "Ledger  Account,"  and  here  they  are.' 

"Says  I  to  him — I  felt  utterly  bewildered — in  fact  entirely 
"and  completely  'flabbergasted' — as  the  saying  is:  'They 
"'do  say  "Figures  don't  lie!"  but  these  figures  don't  seem 
"  'to  be  particularly  truthful !  No,  sir — that's  a  fact — they 
"  'seem  to  be  rather  mendacious,'  says  he — again  a-rubbin' 
"his  head  and  starin'  so  hard  at  the  'Ledger  Account,'  you 
"would  a'  most  have  thought  he  wuz  a  lookin'  right  through 
"it. 

"Finally  he  said,  'Here,  Mr.  O'Flaherty,  I  will  let  you 
"  'have  the  $38.75  and  you  simply  give  me  your  "I.  O.  U." 
"'for  it — and  then  I  will  set  to  work  again,  even  if  it 
"'takes  me  a  hull  week,  and  I'll  go  through  all  those  en- 


WW- 


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wmyfr!'!^' 


.,r~' T^^-r^y^-T  ■•  "•'^^•Jl'Tr^'i': , ,'  r^"-  "^.^ 


i66 


The  Search   for   a    Queen. 


i: 


...  I 


«  ( 


« <, 


It  i. 


«  < 


« < 


«  ( 


«  ( 


«  < 


« < 


tries  agin  and  surely  it  will  conne  out  alright.  The  Books 
'can't  be  wrong,  Mr.  OTlaherty,  becoz  they're  kept  on 
the  Double  Entry  System,  and  they  must  be  right.' 
"Says  I :  'If  it  is  not  convenient,  I  will  come  agin  and  get 
the  money — but  I  would  rather  not  sign  an  "I.  O.  U.", 
as  you  call  it — ^that  is  if  the  "I.  O.  U."  goes  into  your 
"'books — and  through  all  those  different  accounts  you've 
bin  tellin'  me  about — becoz,'  says  I,  'if  the  Double  Entry 
System,  now  makes  me  owe  you  $38.75  instead  of  you 
owing  it  to  me — if  I  g^ve  you  an  "I.  O.  U."  for  that  sum 
and  it  goes  through  the  Books  I  might  be  brought  out 
to  owe  you  $77.50— that  is  double  the  $38.75,  as  I  figure 
it  in  my  head.' 

"  'Or,'  continued  I,  'the  contrary  critters  might  take  a  no- 
tion to  run  the  other  way  and  they  might  bring  you  in 
owing  me  $77.50.  They  ain't  to  be  trusted  and  that's  a 
"  'fac',*  says  I.  'I  cannot  take  any  money  at  all  from  you  if 
'"it  is  to  be  entered  down  in  those  'ere  men — men — what 
"  'was  that  word  again,  Brer  Jackson?*  says  I.  'Mendacious,* 
"  'says  he.  'In  those  mendacious  books,*  says  I.  'You  know 
"  'you  owe  me  $38.75 — Books  or  no  Books — ^and  I  know  the 
"  'same.  Now,  if  you  will  please  give  me  that  sum  and  not 
"  'let  it  appear  in  those  mendacious  books,  alright — if  not, 
"  '1*11  try  and  get  on  without  it ;  it  would  be  safer  for  both 
"  'of  us,  perhaps.* 

"Well,  finally  he  gave  me  the  $38.75  and  said  'I  will  make 
"  'an  exception  to  the  general  rule  for  once,  as  you  insist  on 
"  'it.*  and  then  he  rubbed  his  head  again  and  says,  'It  always 
"  'has  run  in  my  head  that  I  owed  you  a  balance  of  $38.75 — 
"  'and  I  think  so,  too ;  but  then  the  Books  must  be  right.' 

"Well,  when  I  went  home  and  tol  ^  my  gude  wife,  she  was 
"that  scared  she  would  never  trade  aiiy  more  at  the  old  sto' ! 
"Says  she,  'I  don*t  really  like  to  trust  that  Double  Entry 
"  'System.*  Of  course  she  knew  there  was  $38.75  a-oomin* 
"to  us  and  had  counted  on  it  as  well  as  me.  In  fact,  she  got 
"so  scared  about  that  System  of  Book  Keeping  that  when 
"some  neighbour  once  suggested  we  send  our  Tommy  to  her 
"brother's  at  Little  Muddy  York  so  that  he  could  attend 
"Bizness  Collidge — the  gude  wife  said  'No — I  know  Tommy 


I 


The   Search   for   a   Queen, 


167 


"  'is  smart  at  school  and  good  at  figures,  but  I  won't  have 
"  'him  sent  to  no  Bizness  Collidge.' 

"And  when  my  gals,  Polly  and  Jinny,  wanted  to  start  that 
'"ere  milinery  shop  when  they  came  back  from  down  east — 
"they  wanted  to  borrow  three  hundred  dollars  from  me  to 
"start  bizness  with.  Says  I  to  them :  'I  have  no  objection 
"  'to  you  gals  bein,  bizness  people  and  keeping  a  sto'.  But 
"  'please  keep  yo'  books  Single  Entry.  If  you  keep  them 
" '  "Double  Entry' — as  they  call  it — instead  of  my  having 
"  'lent  you  three  hundred  dollars — I  may  find  you  have  lent 
"  'me  six  hundred.'  Polly  called  me  'am  old  goose'  and 
"kissed  me.  • 

"But  I  know  I  wus  right  about  that  account  of  mine. 
"Sometimes  when  I'm  a  following  the  team  a  plowin'  I  will 
"go  over  the  figures  agin  in  my  mind  and  I  can't  make  'em 
"any  different,  no  hows ;  I  owed  at  the  sto'  $40,  and  the  sto* 
"owed  me  for  ten  and  a  half  tons  of  hay  at  $7.50  per  ton — 
"$78.75.    Doesn't  that  leave  me  $38.75  ?" 

This  was  the  gentleman — "old  man  Jackson"*  as  he  was 
generally  called — ^who  now  came  out  of  the  little  railed-in 
office  and  comes  a-walking  down  the  sto'  playing  with  the 
heavy  seals  on  his  watch  chain  as  he  walked — a  little  playful 
habit  he  had. 

"It's  somethin'  in  the  wholesale  way,  is  it?"  he  asked, 
addressing  the  g^deman  and  his  wife  and  the  two  "furriners" 
— who  stood  together  "in  a  bunch,"  as  it  were. 

"Well,  Mr.  Jackson,  the  fact  is  these  two  gentlemen  are 
"Furriners  and  they  did  wish  to  buy  a  Pedlar's  Pack  and  a 
"few  Ribbons  and  Laces." 

"Oh,  I  see,"  said  the  merchant,  proceeding  a  little  way 
down  the  counter  and  commencing  to  take  down  some  boxes 
containing  pretty  Ribbons  and  opening  them  up  to  the  admir- 
ing eyes  of  all  present;  "here's  some  of  the  finest  ribbons 
"ever  imported  into  this  Continent  of  British  North  America, 
"I  do  feel  sure — real  silk — woven  by  hand  on  the  far-famous 

•The  translator  does  not  know  whether  or  not  this  is  the  same  gentle- 
man to  whom  reference  is  made  in  the  beautiful  verses: 

"Ole  Brer  Jackson 

"Flnes't  conpaction 

"Fell  down  sta'rs 

"Fer  to  gie  satisfaction." 
See  "Uncle  Remus— his  songs  and  his  sayinf/s— the  Folk  Lore  of  the 
Old  Plantation"  (Joel  Chandler  Harris)  Chap.  XXVIII  "The  End  of 
Mr.  Bear). 


«Wf«lfllj|^!fl|tpp|*liiJif|ipp»P'W 


1 68 


The   Search   for   a    Queen. 


■?  f^ 


"looms  of  Lyons — ^that  is  in  France,  you  know.  The  house 
"in  Mont  Royale  with  whom  I  deal  only  import  the  very 
"best  goods ;  all  silk,  you  see.  And  I've  most  any  width  you 
"could  want — and  as  to  prices,  I'll  make  the  price  very  rea- 
"sonable.  How  many  yards  can  you  handle  ?  Perhaps  I  had 
"better  cut  you  some  from  each  roll?" 

"We  are  ever  so  much  obliged,"  answered  the  Sieur.  "We 
"would  like  to  invest  in  a  fair  stock  of  Ribbons  and  also  of 
"Laces — I  suppose  you  have  them  also.  It  depends  upon  the 
"price  and  upon  the  extent  of  our  yens." 

"Yens !  What  are  yens  ?  my  dear  sir,"  asked  the  aston- 
ished merchant,  adding — looking^at  his  fair  wife — "I  never 
"heard  of  such  things  afore ;  did  you,  my  dear  ?" 

"No,"  answered  that  fair  lady. 

"Never  heard  of  'yens' — why,  they  are  'the  current  coin 
"  *of  the  Realm' — as  we  read  in  the  School  Books  at  School," 
answered  M.  Machelle, 

"  'The  current  coin  of  the  realm  ?'  "  repeated  the  merchant. 
"Of  what  realm  ?  This  is  a  part  of  Great  Britain,  of  course. 
"We  are  a  Crown  Colony  under  British  rule — ^you  know 
that?" 

"Ah — to  be  sure — perhaps  after  all  the  yen  will  not  pass 
"current  here,"  the  Sieur  answered  reflectively. 

"Let  us  see  one  of  'em,  anyway,"  asked  the  merchant,  and 
the  Sieur  untied  the  heavy  bag  of  coin  which  he  had  been 
carrying  in  his  hand  so  far  and  so  long.  Then  he  put  his 
hand  in  the  bag  and  brought  out  to  the  admiring  eyes  of  the 
merchant  and  his  fair  wife  and  the  honest  yeoman  and  his 
fair  wife,  a  few  shining  yens,  saying  as  he  did  so:  "I  fancy 
"they  are  alright — they're  just  as  they  came  from  the  Bank. 
"I  was  in  a  hurry  coming  away  and  I  sent  a  boy  over  to  the 
"Bank  with  a  cheque  and  asked  him  to  bring  me  a  bag  full  of 
"yens,  and  here  they  are." 

"You're  sure  they  are  not  counterfeit?"  asked  the  mer- 
chant, his  eye  traveling  instinctively  towards  the  big  placard 
of  warning  hanging  up  in  the  store. 

"Oh,  I  guess  not,"  answered  the  Sieur  with  a  laugh. 

"What  Bank  did  you  say?"  pursued  the  cautious  merchant. 

"The    Traders'    Bank    of    Mieauburg — they    also    have 


The   Search   for   a    Queen. 


169 


pass 

:,  and 
been 
It  his 
)f  the 
d  his 
ancy 
ank. 
the 
11  of 

Imer- 
kard 


lant. 
lave 


"Branches  or  Agencies  at  other  points :  Catburg  and  Pussy- 
"burg,  and  I  think  Tomlinson's  Landing.  It's  a  well-known 
"Bank — one  of  the  oldest  in  the  Kingdom." 

"It's  a  strange  thing,  but  I  do  not  seem  to  be  able  to  recall 
"the  name:  'Traders'  Bank  of  Mieauburg?'  Wait  a 
"minute,  kindly — I'll  go  into  my  office  and  get  our  Bank 
"Directory;  it  gives  the  names  of  the  leading  Banks  in 
"Canady  and  the  States  and  their  European  correspondents." 

In  a  couple  of  minutes  the  merchant  returned  with  the 
book  in  question — ^bound  in  red — and  said :  "I  should  easily 
"be  able  to  find  'Mieauburg'  as  the  places  are  given  in  an 
"Index — alphabetically — that's  as  they  come,  you  know — 
"accordin'  to  their  fust  letter.  Now  let's  see"  (putting  his 
big  forefinger  down  on  the  page)  "here's  'M' — now  let's 
"see — Mieauburg — Mieauburg — iMieauburg — don't  seem  to 
"be  any  such  place.  What's  the  name  agin  of  those  other 
"places  you  mentioned?" 

"Catburg,  Pussyburg,  and  Tomlinson's  Landing.  I  am 
"not  sure  whether  there  is  a  Branch  at  the  last  place,  but  I 
"thmk  there  is." 

The  merchant  wrote  the  names  down  with  a  pencil  on  a 
piece  of  wrapping  paper  which  was  lying  before  him,  and 
then  looked  for  the  names.  Then  he  rubbed  his  head  again 
and  said:  "'Pears  like  I  must  have  heard  tell  of  some  of 
"those  places." 

"Are  they  well-known  places?"  he  continued,  looking  at 
Machelle. 

"Sure,'  answered  that  gentleman.  "Mieauburg  is  the 
"Capital,  you  know — the  Seat  of  Government.  The  Houses 
"of  Parliament  are  there — the  Noble  and  Hereditary  House 
"of  Sieurs  and  the  Commons'  House,  you  know." 

"I  must,  of  course,  have  read  or  heard  tell  of  all  them 
"things,"  said  the  merchant,  "but  I  can't  really  place  any  of 
"'em  just  now.  And  it  is  very  strange  I  can't  find  any  men- 
"tion  of  *em  in  this  Bank  Directory.  I  pay  three  dollars  a 
"year  for  this  Book,  and  it  must  be  right." 

In  the  meantime  the  merchant's  fair  wife  had  been  looking 
at  the  pretty  coins — ^and  all  of  a  sudden  she  exclaimed : 

"Why,  King  William  isn't  here  at  all — nor  the  late  King 


.■A. 


IT© 


The   Search   for   a    Queen. 


"George  either !    It's  some  other  King — King  Grim — Grim 
" — I  can't  make  out  the  letters  very  well." 

"His  Majesty  King  Grimalkin  the  First,"  said  the  Sieur. 
Whereat  he  and  M.  Machelle  took  off  their  caps. 

"And  on  the  other  side  is  a  Pussy  Cat  a-standing  up  on  its 
"hind  legs  on  top  of  a  Crown,"  continued  the  Lady. 

"Why,  certainly,"  said  M.  Machelle.  "A  Grimalkin — in 
"other  words  a  Pussie — Rampant — as  the  Heralds  say — sur- 
"mounting  the  Crown  Royal." 

"Well,  all  this  seems  very  strange,  but  it  must  be  alright. 
"You  gentlemen,  I  am  sure,  would  not  attempt  to  pass 
"counterfeit  money  in  this  'ere  store.  I  noticed  you  reading 
"the  'Warning'  hung  up.  There  may  be  such  places  as  you 
"say  and  such  a  King  as  you  say.  This  Book  may  not  be 
"entirely  complete,  and  this  is  a  wonderful  Age  in  wlych  we 
"live — to  be  sure.  What  is  the  name  of  the  country  from 
"which  you  furriners  have  come?" 

"  The  Land  of  the  Grimalkins,' "  promptly  answered  M. 
Machelle ;  "and  a  fair  Land  it  is,  to  be  sure." 
-  "But,  my  dear,"  interposed  his  cautious  wife,  the  trouble 
"is  that  even  if  you  do  take  this  bag  of  'yens' — as  I  think  the 
"gentlemen  call  'em — or  a  certain  number  of  them — wat'll 
"we  do  with  'em?  If  your  Wholesale  Houses  in  Little 
Muddy  York,  Mont  Royale,  or  Trois  Rivieres  will  take 
"them  in  payment  of  your  accounts  or  in  part  payment,  well 
"and  good.  You  could  send  'em  down  next  time  you  are 
"remitting.  But  if  they  won't  take  'em — what  can  you  do 
"with  'em?  You  could  write  to  'em  and  ask  'em,  or  you 
"could  write  to  one  of  the  Banks  in  those  towns  and  ask  'em 
"what  a  'yen'  is  worth — ^whether  they  pass  current  at  par  or 
"at  a  discount,  and  if  so,  what  discount.  If  they  won't  take 
"'em  at  all  nothing  could  be  done  with  'em  except  perhaps  to 
"send  'em  to  some  place  where  they  buy  curious  coins  and 
"sich." 

"I  quite  agree  with  you,  Mrs.  Jackson ;  you  have  spoken 
"like  a  prudendt  wife,"  sajd  the  Sieur. 

"Aye,  aye,"  said  Machelle. 

"Now  I'll  tell  you  what  we'll  do— with  your  permission" 
—continued  the  Sieur.     "At  present  we  will  only  give  a 


The   Search   for   a    Queen, 


171 


"very  small  order— -one  we  may,  perhaps,  in  a  sense,  be  said 
"to  have  received  on  our  way  hither  this  very  morning.  My 
"friends  here  have  the  money — good  undoubted  money — 
"with  which  to  settle  for  the  order.  Then  as  to  a  Pedlar's 
"Pack — ^you  can  perhaps  lend  us  a  big  Valise  or  Portman- 
"teau,  which  will  answer  for  the  nonce  as  a  'Pedlar's  Pack.' 
"As  security  for  its  return  you  may  keep  as  many  handfuls 
"of  the  yens  as  you  wish.  We  will  either  return  the  Valise 
"within  Ten  Days  from  to-day,  or  we  will  buy  it  from  you 
"or  else  purchase  a  new  one." 

"Right  glad  w,e  will  be,  sirs,  to  go  thus  far  to  oblige  you," 
said  the  merchant.  Then  turning  to  his  fair  wife  he  added : 
"My  Dear,  will  you  kindly  see  if  we  have  a  valise  or  port- 
"manteau  or  something  which  will  answer  for  a  Pedlar's 
"Pack  to  lend  these  gentlemen-pedlars?" 

"Certainly,"  said  that  lady,  as  she  lightly  tripped  away. 

"Now  for  the  order,  gentlemen,"  said  the  merchant  briskly. 

The  Sieur  handed  him  the  order,  which  he  read,  after  put- 
ting on  his  specta'^'es,  and  then  said :  "Why,  that  order  is 
"easily  and  quickl>  and  cheaply  filled.  Our  mottoes,  you 
"know — I  saw  you  reading  'em — are  'Small  Profits  and 
"  'Quick  Returns' — and  'Live  and  Let  Live.'  Now,  gentle- 
"men,  you  perhaps  had  better  let  Mrs.  Williamson  pick  out 
"your  Ribbons  for  you.  The  fair  sex  are  better  judges  than 
"we  are  of  sich  things." 

"Did  you  say  the  lady's  name  was  'Mrs.  Williamson?'" 
asked  M.  Machelle. 

"Why,  cartaioly,'  answered  that  lady.  "What  did  you 
"think  it  was  ?  By  what  name  would  you  have  called  me  if 
"you  had  been  speaking  of  me  to  some  one  else?" 

"I  think  I  would  have  probably  called  you,"  answered  the 
gay  Sessional  Writer,  "  'The  Lady  who  owns  the  lovely 
"'pansy  beds.'" 

"And  so  would  I,"  said  the  gallant  Sieur.  "And  I  would 
"have  called  her  good  husband  'the  honest  yeoman  who  owns 
"  'the  two  "cow  bossies."  However,  now  we  know  your 
"names,  we  will  be  able  to  call  you  'Mr.  and  Mrs.  William- 
"son' — that  is,  when  we  are  speaking  to  others.  Of  course 
"when  we  are  speaking  to  one  another  we  will  probably  still 


172 


The   Search   for   a    Queen, 


"use  the  pretty  and  romantic  appellations  we  have  men- 
"tioned." 

"Ha !  Ha !  Ha  I  Pretty  good,"  laughed  the  gudeman  and 
the  merchant  in  unison. 

"What  funny  folks  you  furriners  are,  to  be  sure !"  said  the 
fair  gudewife. 

Meanwhile  the  lady  had  picked  out  the  ribbons  she  thought 
prettiest,  and  the  merchant  with  his  scissors  had  cut  off  the 
proportion  required  and  had  deftly  and  neatly  done  up  the 
order  in  a  small  packet.  Then  the  gudewife  took  out  her 
purse  and  handed  to  the  merchant  the  necessary  funds.  The 
merchant  as  he  looked  at  the  coin  proffered  him,  said  with  a 
smile:  "This  is  what  you  call  'good  and  lawful  money  of 
"  'Canady.' "  Then  he  added :  "I  will  make  out  a  little  in- 
" voice  of  the  goods  and  hand  it  to  the  gentlemen-pedlars." 
As  he  did  so  he  said,  "Gentlemen,  this  is  my  first  Invoice  or 
"Statement  Current  to  your  Firm.  Hoping  this  will  be  the 
"beginning  of  a  business  between  us  which  will  be  mutually 
"satisfactory  and  eminently  profitable." 

By  this  time  his  fair  wife  had  returned,  bearing  a  large 
Valise  or  Portmanteau.  As  she  brought  it  to  her  husband 
she  said :  "My  Dear,  this  is  the  only  valise  I  can  find.  It 
"is  one  you  take  with  you  when  you  go  down  below  some- 
.  "times  to  buy  goods.  You  have  not  used  it  for  over  ten  years 
"and  it  may  be  an  equally  long  time  afore  you  go  below 
"again.  You  know  we've  found  we  can  order  our  goods 
"equaly  well  by  letter,  and  it  saves  a  big  bill  of  expense." 

"Right  you  are,  my  dear.  I  don't  suppose  I'll  ever  use 
"that  valise  again.  I  think  it  better  to  order  goods  by  letter. 
"You  know  then  just  what  you  want  and  what  you  are  or- 
"dering.  But  when  one  goes  below  to  buy  goods  he  is  apt 
"to  'lose  his  head.' " 

"How  'lose  his  head  ?'  "  asked  the  Sieur.  "I  don't  under- 
"stand." 

"Well,  you  see,  when  a  country  merchant  reaches  Little 
"Muddy  York,  or  Mont  Royale,  or  Trios  Rivieres— or  any 
"other  place,  I  suppose — 'where  merchants  most  do  congje- 
"  'gate' — ^as  they  say  in  the  old  play* — ^his  arrival  soon  be- 

*"Merchant  of  Venice."  —William  Shak  eepeare.    Act  I.    Scene  8. 


mumimm 


The   Search   for    a    Queen, 


173 


use 

tter. 

or- 

apt 


ittle 
jany 

re- 


; 


be- 


"comes  known.  And  "tween  you  and  me  and  the  lamp- post' 
" — ^as  the  saying  is — he  is  treated  a  little  bit  too  kindly — 
"made  a  little  bit  too  much  of.  Now,  suppose  I  reach  the 
"town  at  four  o'clock  this  arternoon — about  seven  o'clock, 
"when  I  have  just  fkiished  my  dinner  and  am  smoking  a 
'■quiet  pipe  in  my  room — ^meaning  to  retire  early,  for  I  am 
"tired — a  knock  comes  to  the  door  and  in  comes  a  gentle- 
"man  who  shakes  me  cordially  by  the  hand  and  says,  afore 
"i  can  gasp  for  breath — so  to  speak:  *Mr.  Jackson,  the 
"  'well-known  merchant  of  "The  Comers"  ?  How  do  you  do, 
"  'sir?  How  have  you  enjoyed  your  long  journey  from  the 
"'great  North  Land?  Really  nice  weather,  isn't  it?  I 
"  'thought  you  might  be  a  little  lonesome,  and  I  thought  I 
"  'would  just  drop  in  and  ask  you  if  you  would  not  accom- 
"  'pany  me  and  some  of  "the  boys"  to  the  Theatre.  Mac- 
"  'Fairson  is  going  to  take  the  part  of  The  Ghost  in  Hamlet 
"  'and  he  makes  a  jolly  good  Ghost.'  And  so  he  drags  me 
"away  to  the  Theatre.  Then  when  the  Play  is  over  he  says : 
"  'I  say,  Jackson,  I  would  like  to  take  you  over  to  "The  Club" 
"  'and  introduce  you  to  some  more  of  "the  boys."  And  so 
"keeps  me  out  of  bed  until  three  or  four  in  the  morning. 
"Then  he  leaves  me  to  sleep.  But  he  does  not  leave  me  for 
"long.  About  nine  o'clock  that  morning,  just  when  I  am 
"finishing  my  breakfast,  he  calls  on  me  and  says,  'Can't  you 
"  'ask  the  waiter  to  bring  me  a  cup  of  coflfee — I'll  drink  a 
"  'cup  with  you,  if  you'll  be  so  kind.'  Then  after  breakfast 
"we  light  our  pipes  and  stroll  down  street,  and,  first  thing 
"you  knov. ,  he  or  his  firm  has  got  me  booked  for  a  hull  lot  of 
"things  which  I  don't  want  and  which  remain  on  my  shelves 
"unsold  for  ever  so  long.  They  mean  well,  of  course,  I  sup- 
"pose;  the  goods  look  alright  and  are  alright,  and  probably 
"are  all  just  'the  style,*  and  are  'just  in  the  prevailing 
"fashion' — ^as  they  assure  me — and  they  probably  would  sell 
"  'like  hot  cakes*  in  some  other  locality ;  but  they  don't  sell 
"well  at  'The  CorAers' — as  I  find  out — and  so  I  am  put  to 
"more  or  less  inconvenience,  perhaps  even  loss,  in  the  matter. 
"Now,  I  have  found  out  that  it  pays  me  better  to  sit  down  in 
"my  office  here  and  write  out  a  little  order  for  what  I  want 
"and  send  the  letter  through  His  Majesty's  mails — and  have 


ilir^ppppiiiippippiiipiiipi^^wii^i  ipH.  jiijiijs^pipi^ 


»74 


The   Search   for   a    Queen. 


"the  goods  come  up  the  Lakes  by  the  first  convenient  oppor- 
"tunity."  Then  the  good-natured  merchant  added:  "Well, 
"here's  the  Pedlar's  Pack — you  can  have  it  for  the  ten  days 
"or  even  a  month,  free  of  charge  or  rent.  At  the  end  of  that 
"time  you  can  return  it,  if  you  find  the  bizness  of  Peddling 
"an  unprofitable  Perfession.  If  you  find  there  is  money  in 
"the  bizness — why,  you  can  give  the  Wholesale  House  of 
"Jackson  et  Cie  a  wholesale  order  in  the  lines  or  Ribbons 
"and  Laces." 

"And  the  yens?"  asked  the  Sieur. 

"Well — for  the  fun  of  it — I  will  write  down  to  one  of  the 
"Banks  below  and  find  out  the  par  value  or  the  rate  of  dis- 
"count  on  the  'yen* — as  you  call  it — or  whether  they  are 
"negotiable  in  this  country  at  all,  and  I  will  let  you  know 
"what  they  say.  In  the  meantime,  you  could  leave  one  or 
"two  with  my  wife  just  to  look  at — as  a  souvenir  or  nie- 
mento,  so  to  speak." 

"Thanks,  ever  so  much,  for  your  kindness,"  said  the 
Sieur. 

"Ind-eed,  we  are  ever  so  much  obliged,"  said  the  Sessional 
Writer. 

Then  the  Sieur  put  his  hand  in  the  bag  and  took  out  a 
handful  of  shining  yens  and  put  them  on  the  counter  before 
the  Merchant's  Fair  Wife  and  said:  "In  case  it  should  be 
"that  you  should  not  see  us  Pedlars  again — ^please  keep 
"these  as  a  little  memento  or  souvenir  of  this  very  auspicious 
"occasion.  If  we  stay  in  the  country,  of  course  we  will 
"often  call  and  see  you." 

"Well,  now,  we'll  be  a  jogging  along,"  said  Mr.  William- 
son.   "Good-bye,  all" — 

The  farmer  and  his  wife  and  the  two  gentlemen-peddlars 
cordially  shook  hand's  with  the  merchant  and  his  fair  wife, 
and  then  the  journey  home  again  began. 

The  Sieur  before  leaving  the  store,  received  from  the 
mierchant  the  little  invoice  mentioned.  It  was  a  lovely 
moonlight  evening  and  it  was  a  gay  and  merry  party  which 
traveled  behind  "Moll  and  Dobbin" — across  the  lowlands 
which  fronted  on  the  big  river  and  up  the  hillsid'e.  About 
9  o'clock  the  waggon  stopped  in  front  of  the  farm  house 
from  which  had       ~ie  the  order  for  the  granulated  sugar 


The   Search    for   a    Queen. 


175 


lliam- 


and  the  tea.  Atid  at  half-past  ten  "Moll  and  Dobbin"  were 
thankfully  and  peacefully  and  restfuUy  discusing  a  hearty 
supper  of  clover  liay  and  a  few  oats  by  way  of  dessert — 
coupled  with  some  lovely  cool  spring  water  by  way  of 
liquid  refreshment — and  at  the  same  hour  the  four  jolly 
travelers  were  discussing  some  lovely  fresh-brewed  tea — 
some  nicely-broiled  rashers  of  bacon  coupled  with  fresh- 
ly laid  eggs — to  which  should  be  added  the  sweetest  of  home- 
made bread  and  the  choicest  of  butter. 

'*I  think  I  would  like  to  board  here  all  the  time,  Mrs. 
"Williamson,"  said  the  Sieur. 

"I  know  I  would,"  said  the  Sessional  Writer.  Their  kind 
friends  had  told  the  gentlemen-peddlars  that  they  had  a 
spare  bed  in  their  house  and  that  they  would  take  it  as  a 
kindness  if  the  Furriners  would  make  their  house  their 
"Home,"  whilst  they  were  in  that  part  of  the  country.  For 
all  of  which  the  Ministers  Plenipotentiary  and  Ambassadors 
Extraordinary  were  deeply  grateful. 

As  the  tired  Sieur  was  just  falling  asleep  he  i?iurmured  to 
the  equally  tired  Sessional  Writer,  "I  enjoyed  that  ride  so 
"much — they  are  so  kind — everybody  here  seems  to  be  so 
"kind — that  is,  of  course,  barring  out  'Old  Mian  Covet  Grab' 
" — whoever  he  is — ^but  I  think  there  is  nothing  like  a  'stone- 
'  'hooker'  as  an  easy  method  of  transportation — you  don't 
"feel  the  stones." 

Then  h"e  continued  dreamily,  and  ever-so-drowsily :  "I 
"think  we  see  our  way  pretty  clear  before  us  now,  don't  we, 
"old  fellow?" 

To  this  the  joint-Ambassador  and  joint-Minister  an- 
swered very  sleepily:  "I  am  non-committal  until  I  see  the 
"proposed  Queen.  I  will  let  you  know  as  soon  as  I  see  her, 
"my  boy." 

Then,  half  asleep,  the  Sieur  answered:  "I  just  love  these 
"kind  people — our  host  and  hostess;  we  really  must  take 
"them  back  with  us  when  we  return ;  I  fancy  there  will  not 
"be  much  difficulty  in  the  way — ^fhey  love  the  Summertrees 
"family  so  much  they  would  not  wish  to  be  parted  from 
"them." 

"I  have  already  distinctly  said  that  I  am  non-committal 
"until  I  see  the  proposed  Queen" — murmured  the  Sessional 


'"-  '!'"u.  m-  M  iipinppiipfi 


176 


The   Search    for    a    Queen. 


writer,  half  asleep; — then  he  sleepily  continued:  "How 
"about  'Moll  and  Dobbin'  and  'the  two  cow-bossies'  and  the 
"pansies?    They  could  not  leave  them  behind." 

"We'll  arrange  all  that,"  sleepily  answered  the  Sieur — 'I 
"will  think  it  over — perhaps  dream  about  it.  We'll  get 
"them  through  the  Subterranean  Channel  somehow,  never 
"fret."  * 

"I'm  not  fretting,  old  man,  I'm  feeling  perfectly  happy," 
answered  M.  Machelle.  "As  I  have  said  I  am  perfectly  non- 
"committal.  But  I  just  long  to  see  that  dark-eyed  beauty; 
"I  just  love  the  Brunnette  style  of  beauty.  But  I  am  awfully 
"sleepy — and  I  am  entirely  non-committal." 

"Alright,  old  fellow,  I  think  I  prefer  the  Blonde  style  of 
"Beauty  to  the  Brunette — but  they  are  each  lovely  styles — 
"and  I  am  s-tre  each  of  'the  Bonnie  Leddies'  will  be  equally 
"winsome  and  equally  lovely.  So  good  night  and  'Vive  La 
"  'Peine.' " 

"Good  night  and  'Vive  La  Reine,'  it  is,  but  remember 
"I'm  perfectly  non-committal.  I'll  tell  you  what  I'll  do.  As 
"soon  as  I  see  the  proposed  Queen — if  I  am  satisfied  I'll 
"ay  'Vive  La  Reine' — if  I  am  not  satisfied  I  won't.  Do 
"you  undterstand?" 

"Yes,  old  boy,"  sleepily  answered  the  Sieur.  "Then  good 
"night  again,  and  'Vive  La  Reine' — but  in  your  dreams  re- 
"member  I'm  perfectly  non-committal." 

At  eight  o'clock  the  next  morning  the  gentlemen-ped- 
dlars  were  sitting  down  to  a  comfortable  breakfast  with 
their  host  and  hostess. 

"How's  everything  this  morning,  Mr.  Williamson?"  asked 
the  Sieur. 

"Purty  well,  thankee"  replied  the  honest  yeoman, 

"How's  'the  two  cow  bossies,'  Mrs.  Williamson?*'  asked 
M.  Machelle. 

"They're  quite  well,  thankee.  I  have  just  milked  them — 
"and  they've  gone  down  their  trail  to  the  big  Lake  agin." 

"And  how's  our  good  friends  'Moll  and  Dobbin'  this 
"morning — after  their  long  drive  of  yesterday?"  asked  the 
Sieur, 

"Oh,  they're  quite  well,  thankee;  I'm  not  going  to  use 
"them  to-day  so  they  are  'kicking  up  their  heels' — as  the 


■■■! 


The   Search    for    a    Queen. 


177 


., »» 


asked 


asked 


"IV  this 
;d  the 

to  use 
IS  the 


"saying  is — in  the  pasture  field'  beyant  the  barn/'  answered 
the  host. 

"Last  but  not  least,  fair  hostess,"  said  Machelle,  "how  are 
"the  pansy  beds  this  beautiful  morning?" 

"I  think  they'll  be  alright — I'll  get  a  bouquet  in  a  few 
"minutes  for  my  g^d^man  and  for  each  of  you — if  you 
"like." 

"To  be  sure  we  will,  and  thanks,"  said  everybody. 

Then  the  folks  fell  to  talking  about  Summertrees  and  the 
dwellers  there. 

Said  the  gudewife — with  a  laugh — "Perhaps  when  'the 
"  'Bonnie  Leddies'  see  you  gentlemen-peddlars  a-coming 
'they  may  think  their  Fairy  Tale  is  a-coming  true  and  that 
"you  are  the  'Princes  in  Disguise.' " 

'"Princes  in  Disguise'?"  repeated  the  Sieur. 

"Yes,  you  see,"  continued  the  gudewife — 'the  Bonnie 
Leddies'  have  always  been  fond  of  reading  Fairy  Tales  and 
"sich — and  making  up  between  themselves  Fairy  Tales  like, 
"and  in  one  of  the  Fairy  Tales  they  have  told  me — I  don't 
"know  whether  they  made  it  up  themselves  or  whether  they 
"took  it  out  of  a  book — two  strange  gentlemen  come — in 
"fact,  Furriners  just  like  you  gentlemen — I  don't  ^  'ow  as 
"they  was  peddlars,  but  that  don't  matter — and  these  Fur- 
"riners  turn  out  to  be  Princes  in  Disguise — a-wanderin  from 
"their  own  country  in  search  for  a  Queen." 

"In  search  for  a  Queen,"  repeated  the  two  'Furriners' — 
"surely  not!" 

"Why  yes,"  replied  the  gudewife,  "and  why  not?  The  story 
"goes  on  to  say  that  these  two  Princes  in  Disguise  were  sent 
"from  some  far  distant  country  to  select  a  Queen,  and  having 
"found  her  they  take  her  back  with  them  to  their  country 
"and  she  becomes  a  Queen.  'The  Bonnie  Leddies'  have  lots 
"of  fun  over  the  story.  Of  course  they're  only  in  fun — but 
"Old  John  believes  it  will  all  come  true  just  as  it  is  in  the 
"story.  The  girls  have  lots  of  fun  atween  themselves  as  to 
"who  shall  be  tho  Queen,  but  they  long  ago  decided,  I  think 
"—or  else  perhaps  it  was  Old  John  who  decided  for  them — 
"ihat  Miss  Elfie — she's  the  Laird's  Daughter,  you  know — is 
"to  be  the  Queen  and  that  Miss  Retta  is  to  be  her  Lady's 
"Maid  or  Maid  in  Waiting.    You  see,  Miss  Retta  declares 


12 


ifpr  ■vj.nw'w^.i^in^i 


.;pjitf|M^.i!J<^(ippip9i9Tiuf^i!«>.4^;<>P^ 


IP 


iPH 


178 


The   Search    for    a    Queen. 


"she  would  not  let  Miss  Elfie  go  away  without  her — and 
"Miss  Elfie  she  says — in  fun,  of  course — ^that  if  she  is  of- 
'■fered  a  Crown  and  a  Throne  she  will  not  take  it  except  not 
"only  Retta,  but  also  all  her  very  dear  friends  can  go  along, 
"too." 

"That's  only  right,  certainly,"  said  the  Sieur — "who  are 
"Miss  Elfie's  very  dear  friends?" 

"Well  the  Bonnie  Leddie  means,  of  course,  Miss  Retta — 
'and  her  father — the  Laird,  you  know — ^and  Old  John — and 
"my  gudeman  and  me.  She  says  she  will  insist  on  taking 
"us  with  her  when  she  goes.  But  of  course  it's  all  in  fun. 
"It  is  only  a  Fairy  Tale — ^just  to  pass  away  the  time  and 
"make  fun  like.  But  Old  John  says  it  will  come  true.  When 
"I  go  over  to-day  Fm  a-going  to  have  some  fun  with  'the 
"  'Bonnie  Leddies'  about  your  Fairy  Tale." 

"It  is  a  most  remarkable  co-incidence,"  said  M.  Machelle 
to  the  Sieur. 

"I  don't  know  about  that,"  replied  the  gudewife,  "but  it 
"is  a  very  pretty  stoiy  and  we've  all  had  many  a  laugh  over 
"it." 

Not  very  long  afterwards  the  gentlemen-pedlars  started 
Summertrees  carrying  between  them  their  "Pedlar's 
Pack."  The  arrangement  was  that  within  as  short  a  time 
as  possible  the  gudeman  and  his  fair  wife  were  to  follow 
the  guests  to  Summertree"^. 

And  thus  it  was  that  as  recorded  at  the  end  of  the  first 
act  of  this  Romance  two  sun-browned  and  wind-browned 
Pedlars  marched  into  the  Library  at  Summertrees — thus  in- 
terrupting the  grave  and  sad  conversation  in  progress  be- 
tween the  members  of  the  Summertrees  household — and  a- 
crying  in  a  deep  basso-profundo-soprano,  alto,  contralto  and 
metzo-soprano  tone  of  voice — as  it  were — 

"We've  Ribbons  and  Laces 

'"To  set  off  the  Faces 

"Of  pretty  young  Sweethearts  and  Wives!"* 

"Oh  Elfiie,  here  are  two  Gentlemen-Pedlars,"  cried  Miss 
Recta  to  Miss  Elfie.    "Isn't  that  nice?" 

*"H.   M.   S.   Pinafore";  Gilbert   and  Sullivan. 


for 


The   Search   for    a    Queen. 


179 


- — and 

is  of- 

ipt  rot 

along, 

ho  are 

fletta— 
n — and 
taking 
in  fun. 
me  and 
;.  When 
rith  'the 

lachelle 

,  "but  it 
igh  over 

started 
Pedlar's 
a  time 
follow 


Miss 


"If  we  had  known  they  were  coming  we  need  not  have 
'*sent  our  little  order  with  Mrs.  Williamson,"  said  Miss  Elfie. 

"Sit  down,  Gentlemen,  and  make  yourselves ,  at  home," 
said  the  kindly  Laird,  handing  a  chair  to  each  of  the  visitors. 
"You  must  be  tired — carrying  that  heavy  pack.  Have  you 
"traveled  far  this  mornnig.  Gentlemen?" 

"Not  very  far,  sir,  thank  you,"  answered  the  Sieur. 

"But  it  is  a  warm  day,  gentlemen,  and  you  must  be  tired 
"carrying  that  heavy  Pedlar's  Pack,"  said  Miss  Elfie,  kindly. 
"Come  on,  Retta,  let  us  go  and  get  a  cup  of  tea  for  the 
"gentlemen." 

"No,  thank  you,  indeed,"  replied  the  Sieur.  "It  is  not 
"very  long  since  we  had  breakfast,  and  we  really  have  not 
"traveled  far  this  morning.    You  are  all  very  kind." 

"  'Vive  La  Reine !'  "  said  M.  Machelle,  in  a  loud  under- 
tcne  to  his  Joint  Minister  Plenipotentiary  and  Joint  Ambas- 
sador Extraordinary. 

"Vive  La  Reine!"  answered  the  Sieur. 

Everyone  in  the  room  heard  the  words,  but  did  not  at  all 
understand  what  was  meant,  and  looked  at  one  another  in  a 
perplexed  sort  of  way. 

"Cannot  we  show  you,  young  Ladies,  some  of  our  Laces — 
"our  stock  in  trade — as  it  were?"  asked  the  Sieur  presently. 

"Why,  certainly,  if  you  would  be  so  kind — and  if  it  would 
"not  be  too  much  trouble.  But,  oh,  perhaps  you  had  better 
"not — I  forgot  we  do  not  need  anything  in  the  way  of  Rib- 
"bons  and  Laces  just  now.  You  see,  yesterday  morning  a 
"good  friend  of  ours  and  her  husband  were  going  to  'The 
"  'Corners'  and  we  asked  the  lady  kindly  to  purchase  a  few 
"Ribbons  for  us  at  one  of  the  Stores  there.  It  was  probably 
"late  when  they  reached  home — it  is  a  long  journey  to  'the 
"  'Sue' — as  some  folks  call  it — and  the  roads  are  rough ;  so 
"I  suppose  our  friend  could  not  very  well  bring  us  the  Rib- 
"bons  last  night.  But  we  expect  them  over  to-day.  They 
"are  really  very  nice  people  and  very  kind.  So  you  see  we 
"would  be  putting  you  to  a  great  deal  of  trouble  for 
"nothing." 

"E\  ry  firm  has  a  Business  Motto,  o~  should  have  one. 
"We  understand  Mr.  Jackson  at  "the  Sue,'  or  'the  Corners' 


pp^^^^iiimiPipmiiiPi 


1 80 


The   Search   for    a    Queen. 


!'-)! 


1  ill 


." — whichever  it  is — ^has  two  Business  Mottoes.  Ours  will 
"be — eh,  Pardner?"  (looking  at  M.  Machelle — who  was 
looking  at  Miss  Retta) — "  'No  trouble  to  show  Goods.'  " 

J.  guess  that'll  be  alright,"  answered  the  Sessional  Writer, 
apparently  waking  up  out  of  a  reverie. 

"Well,  then  'here  goes' — as  the  saying  is" — said  the  Sieur, 
as  he  proceeded  to  undo  the  fastenings  of  the  big  leathern 
Portmanteau,  whilst  all  the  occupants  of  the  Library  gath- 
ered round  and  watched  the  operation  with  curious  eyes. 

Having  undone  the  fastenings,  the  Sieur  opened  wide  the 
big  valise.  It  contained  two  large  compartments.  In  the 
one  firstly  opened  was  a  small,  neatly-folded  little  packet — 
in  the  other  were  two  little  slips  of  paper — one  neatly  folded 
and  twisted  as  if  by  fair,  feminine  hand. 

"You  must  have  got  nearly  sold  out,  gentlemen — or  else 
"been  robbed  on  the  way,"  said  the  Laird  pleasantly. 

"I  thought  by  tht  vay  you  'uns  carried  that  Pack  when 
"you  came  in  that  it  wc  ghed  most  half  a  ton !"  said  old  John. 

Then  everyone  laughed. 

"Well,"  said  the  Sieur,  "one  thing  is  certain — we  cannot 
"show  you  what  we  have  not  got,  can  we  ?  Now,  let  us  see 
"what  is  in  this  little  packet." 

Then  the  gallant  Sieur  opened  the  packet  and  displayed  to 
the  admiring  eyes  of  everyone  three  pieces  of  silk  ribbon, 
each  a  yard  long  and  respectively  of  the  colors  blue,  pink  and 
crimson,  and  each  three-quarters  of  an  inch  wide. 

"Your  stock  seems  to  have  got  reduced  to  some  extent, 
"gentlemen,"  said  the  Laird  pleasantly. 

"I  am  so  sorry,"  said  Miss  Retta  to  M.  Machelle,  who 
could  not  help  looking  at  her  very  often — in  fact,  old  John 
afterwards  declared  M,  Machelle  looked  at  Miss  Retta  con- 
stantly and  without  intermission  from  the  time  the  gentle- 
men-pedlars came  into  the  room — but  then  old  John  always 
was  a  great  fellow  to  joke — "that  we  sent  away  our  order 
"yesterday.  You  gentlemen  seem  to  have  got  exactly  the 
"colour  and  shade  of  ribbon  we  ordered  yesterday — ^and  ex- 
"actly  the  length  and  exactly  the  width." 

"It  is  apparently  one    of    those    peculiar    circumstances 


The    Search    for   a    Queen. 


i8i 


rs  will 
o  was 


> » 


s. 
A^riter, 

;  Sieur, 
eathern 
y  gath- 
iyes. 
nde  the 
In  the 
acket — 
f  folded 

-or  else 

;k  when 
Id  John. 

;  cannot 
t  us  see 

layed  to 
ribbon, 
)ink  and 

extent, 

lie,  who 
[id  John 
Itta  con- 
gentle- 
always 
ir  order 
jctly  the 
land  ex- 

istances 


"which  you  might  call  a  'co-incidence.* "  said  her  father, 
laughing. 

"I  don't  understand  it  at  all,"  said  old  John,  a-gazing 
curiously  into  the  cavernous  depths  of  the  big  valise.  "It 
"beats  all,"  he  added,  a-rubbing  his  head. 

"Perhaps  if  we  look  in  this  other  compartment  or  room, 
"the  mystery  may  be  unraveled,"  said  the  Sieur. 

Then  he  shut  to  the  first  compartment  and  opened  the 
second — the  one  on  the  left  hand  side. 

"Now,  Ladies  and  Gentlemen,"  continued  the  Sieur,  as  if 
he  were  a  showman  addressing  an  audience,  "I  have  in  my 
"hands  two  small  pieces  of  paper.  One  reads  as  follows — 
"that  is  to  say,  in  the  manner  and  in  the  words  and  figures 
"following — videlicet — to  wit: 

"  *i  yard  blue  ribbon  f  in.  wide. 

"*i    do.  pink        "     do.     do. 

"  *i    do.  crimson  "     do.    do.'  " 

"Why,  that  is  exactly  the  order  I  gave  yesterday — ^and  I 
"believe  that  is  the  very  paper  I  wrote,  too.  Please  let  me 
"see  it,  won't  you?"  asked  Miss  Elfie. 

"Certainly,  here  it  is,  my  Liege,"  answered  the  gallant 
Sieur,  handing  the  young  lady  the  paper  and  bowing  low. 

"I  wonder  what  he  means  by  calling  Miss  Elfie  *my 
"  'Liege,'  said  old  John  to  the  Laird  in  a  loud  undertone. 
"But  he  means  well  anyway — and  he  said  it  wery  perlitely. 
"Perhaps  them  are  furriners  and  it  may  be  a  furrin  word." 

"Why,  this  is  exactly  the  same  order  which  I  wrote  out 
"yesterday  morning  and  gave  to  old  John  to  hand  to  Mrs. 
"Williamson !    Didn't  I,  old  John  ?" 

"Sartainly,"  answered  that  gentleman,  a-rubbing  his  head 
hard  and  speaking  in  a  very  perplexed  sort  of  way. 

"Are  you  sure  yoj  gave  my  note  to  Mrs.  Williamson,  old 
"John?"  continued  Miss  Elfie. 

"Sartainly,"  answered  old  John.  "Sartainly."  Then  the 
old  man  bent  down  low  and  peered  anxiously  into  the  cav- 
ernous depths  of  the  big  Leathern  Valise — then  he  cautiously 
put  his  hand  into  one  compartment  and  then  into  the  other 
and  felt  them. 

"I  was  feeling  to  see  whether  it  was  a  real  walise  or  only 


wmmmmmmmmim^lifm'm'^f^'f^f^^immg^^ 


182 


The   Search   for   a    Queen. 


"an  imaginary  one,"  explained  old  John  to  the  amused  spec- 
tators. "You  see,  the  hull  thing  seems  to  me  like  a  Fairy 
"Tale — like  one  of  those  Fairy  Tales  'the  Bonnie  Leddies' 
"tell  us  about  sometimes.  Here  suddenly  come  two  strange 
"gentlemen-pedlars— jist  as  if  they  had  come  out  of  a  book — 
"they  are  api>arently  'furriners'  by  their  accent — ;then  they 
"bring  with  them  a  big  Pedlars'  Pack  which  seems  so  heavy 
"when  they  come  in  that  it  takes  the  two  of  them  to  carry  it 
" — it  'peared  to  me  to  weigh  at  least  half  a  ton — then  they 
"open  it  and  what's  in  it?  Nothing,  as  I  can  see,  but  this 
"little  wee  packet  of  ribbons — the  very  ribbons  which  'the 
"  'Bonnie  Leddies'  ordered  yesterday ;  that  is  on  this  side  of 
"the  walise — and  on  the  other  side  there  is  nothing  but  two 
"little  pieces  of  paper,  and  one  on  'em  is  the  wery  identical 
"note  Miss  Elfie  wrote  with  her  own  hand  and  gave  me  yis- 
"terday  mornin'  to  give  to  Miss  Williamson — ^and  I  did  give 
"it  to  her  sure.  It  beats  all — that  it  does — it  beats  the  Dutch 
" — ^as  the  sayin*  is." 

Then  amidst  the  loud  and  repeated  laughter  of  all  present 
the  old  man  carefully  examined  the  interior  of  the  valise 
again  and  exclaimed : 

"I  know  what  it  is ;  it's  magic.  These  gentlemen  are  Con- 
"jurers — MaL  ans.  You  folks  had  better  look  out."  Here 
the  old  man  co  menced  to  'edge  away'  from  the  circle,  say- 
ing: "I've  heard  tell  of  conjurers  and  magicians  afore.  They 
"do  say  they  can  do  most  anything.  You'd  better  look  out. 
"They  say  there  was  a  magician  once  came  and  gave  a  show 
"at  'the  Corners'  and  he  could  do  most  anything — make  a 
"fire  in  his  stove-pipe  hat  and  not  burn  it  up — make  all  sorts 
"of  things  come  outen  of  it — lots  of  things — dozens  of  hand- 
"kerchiefs,  and  aprons,  and  all  sorts  of  things- -and  even 
"eggs — and  they  do  say  even  a  live  Chicken  he  brought  out 
"of  that  hat  and  it  a  burning  'like  Sam  Flill' — as  the  saying, 
"is — all  the  time.  I  say  this  hull  bizness  is  magic  and  these 
"gentlemen  are  not  Pedlars  at  all — they  are  Conjurers  and 
"Magicians.  You  want  to  look  out.  You  'Bonnie  Leddies' 
"once  read  to  me    about    sich    people    in    'The    Arabian 


<<  < 


Nights 


The   Search   for   a    Queen. 


183 


d  spec- 
.  Fairy 
.eddies' 
strange 
book — 
m  they 
)  heavy 
:arry  it 
m  they 
)Ut  this 
ch  'the 
side  of 
5Ut  two 
ientical 
me  yis- 
lid  give 
2  Dutch 

present 
valise 

re  Con- 
Here 

le,  say- 
They 

ok  out. 

a  show 

nake  a 
1  sorts 
hand- 
[  even 
ht  out 
saying- 

d  these 
rs  and 
eddies' 
rabian 


Here  everyone  laughed  heartily,  and  the  Laird  said :  "I 
"fancy  it  is  only  a  co-incidence  and  not  magic." 

"I  don't  know  nothing  'bout  any  coincidence  or  any 
"magic,"  said  the  gude  wife,  who  had  stolen  on  tip  toe  into 
the  room,  followed  by  her  giideman — ^also  on  tip  toe — and 
who  had  been  interested  spectators  of  the  more  recent  pro- 
ceedings, and  interested  auditors  of  old  John's  eloquence, 
"but,  my  gudeman  and  me  knows  these  furriners  well — they 
"are  real  friends  of  ours — ^and  they  are  stopping  at  our 
"house.  They  only  left  there  about  a  couple  of  hours  ago — 
"or  so — ^and  the  very  bouquets  they  wear  are  from  our 
"Pansy  Beds."  Then  the  good  lady,  more  particularly  ad- 
dressing "the  Bonnie  Leddie,s,"  continued :  "You  know  we 
"always  calls  'em  our  Pansy  Beds — ^that  is,  yourn  as  well  as 
"ourn — because  they  are  really  more  yourn  than  ourn." 

Then  the  gfud'e  wife  continued:  "Them's  your  own  ribbons, 
"Bonnie  Leddies;  the  fac'  is  thet  these  gentlemen-pedlars 
"rode  in  with  my  gudeman  an'  me  to  the  'Sue',  yesterday. 
"They  had  bin  intendin'  to  lay  in  quite  a  stock  of  Ribbons 
"an'  Laces  fur  to  start  with  in  their  Perfession — but  when  it 
"came  to  the  buyin'  of  'em  it  turned  out  that  tho'  they  had 
"lots  of  money — a  hull  bag  full  in  fac' — it  was  no  use — their 
"money  was  not  of  the  right  kindi — and  so  they  had  to  wait 
"a  while  afore  they  could  lay  in  what  you  might  call  a 
"wholesale  stock.  On  our  way  down  I  handed  'em  yo  little 
"order — thinking  they  might  like  to  fill  it,  seein'  they  wuz 
"goin'  into  the  Ribbon  bizness.  I  knew  vou  would  not 
"mind " 

"Certainly  not"  said  the  'Bonnie  Leddies' 

"And  so  the  only  Ribbons  they  bought  were  these  Ribbons 
"which  I  paid  for  out  of  yo'  own  money — ^and  here's  the 
"change,  my  dears" — here  the  gudewife  handed  to  Miss 
Elfie  the  change — "and  my  gudeman  has  the  tobacco  which 
"was  ordered^' — ^here  that  gentleman  produced  the  article 
mentioned^ — "and  the  gen'.lemen-pedlars  has  the  bill — or  the 
"  'invoice,'  as  I  think  Brer  Jackson  called  it — of  the  Rib- 
"bons.'  " 

"Here,  my  Liege,  certainly,  is  the  'invoice*  or  'statement 
"current' — or  whatever  the  merchant  called  it,"  said  the 


^mmm 


mm 


mmmm. 


Mi 


184 


The   Search   for   a    Queen.— 


Sieur — ^handing  to  Miss  Elfie  the  other  little  paper  which 
was  in  the  left  handi  compartment  of  the  Pedlar's  Pack. 

"Well,  Old  John/'  said  the  Laird  with  a  gay  laugh,  "you 
"see  I  was  right  for  once  and  you  were  wrong  for  once :  it 
"was  not  magic — only  a  peculiar  co-incid'ence," 

"I  guess  you  were  right  and  I  was  wrong,  'as  you  gener- 
"ally  are' — as  the  old  saying  is — Laird,"  replied  Old  John, 
also  laughing. 

"I  don't  quite  understand  about  the  money,  though,  Mrs. 
"Williamson:  why  would  not  the  merchant — Mr.  Jackson,  I 
"presume — take  the  gentlemen's  money?" 

"Well  you  see  Laird,"  saidi  the  gudeman,  "it  was  what  is 
"apparently  called  'Yens.'" 

"Yens?"  repeated  the  Laird. 

"Yes;  that  is  what  the  gentlemen  called  it — and  here  is 
"a  hull  bag  of  it"— here  the  gudeman  produced  the  little  bag 
of  Yens — "You  see,  I  noticed,  after  the  gentlemen  had 
"started  for  Summertrees  this  mornin'  that  they  had  left 
"behind  'em  their  bag  of  'Yens' — and  I've  took  the  liberty 
"to  tote  it  along  thinkin'  that  as  you.  Laird,  are  a  lamed 
"man  you  might  perhaps  be  able  to  tell  these  furriners  how 
"much  a  'Yen'  is  worth  in  this  country,  or  if  it  is  worth  any- 
"thing." 

"We  are  ever  so  much  obliged  to  you,  friend  Williamson," 
said  the  Sieur,  as  he  took  the  little  bag  from  the  hand  of  the 
gudeman.  Then  he  opened  the  bag  and  laughingly  handed 
it  round  to  each  of  the  persons  present,  commencing  with 
Miss  Eliie — saying  as  he  did  so :  "I  wish  this  was  a  bag  of 
"candies  I  was  handing  around— -eh,  Machelle? — but  it 
"can't  be  helped." 

"What  strange  looking  coins  they  are!"  said  the  Laird, 
scrutinizing  one  carefululy — "I  never  saw  any  coins  like 
"them  before." 

"You  are  sure  they  are  not  counterfeits  ?"  asked  Old  John 
— "they  do  say  Brer  Jackson  is  very  much  opposed  to  coun- 
"terfeit  conis." 

Miss  Elfie  said,  "I  think  they  are  real  pretty — don't  you, 
"Retta?" 

"Yes,"  that  lady  said;  "but  who  is  the  good-lookinpf  gen- 
"tleman  on  the  coin?" 


The   Search   for    a   Queen, 


185 


"You  can  see  his  name  engraved  around  his  portrait," 
answered  the  Sieur.  "His  Majesty  Grimalkin  the  First — 
"but  it  is  not  a  good  picture  at  all — ^it  does  not  'flatter'  him 
*' — so  to  speak.  One  who  had.  seen  him  would  not  know 
"hjm  again  from  his  picture,  as  it  appears  on  the  coins  and 
"on  the  postage  stamps  of  the  Realm.  In  fact  I  was  joking 
"him  about  the  matter  the  other  day  and  I  told  him  the  pic- 
"ture  was  as  bad  as  the  pictures  one  sometimes  sees  in  Patent 
"Medicine  advertisements — you  know  the  ones  to  which  I 
"refer,  Laird — the  'before  taking'  and  'after  taking'  kind." 

"You  know  His  Majesty  personally,  then?"  enquired  Miss 
Elfie. 

"Why,  yes,  my  Liege,  we  are — I  am  proud  to  say — close 
"friends,  and  have  been  close  friends  for  years.  My  friend 
"here,  M.  Machelle,  also." 

Then  the  Sessional  Writer  added : 

"The  fact  is,  my  Liege,  if  my  friend  the  Sieur  D'Ulric 
"and  myself  were  not  such  close  friends  of  His  Majesty,  we 
"would  not  be  here  to-day.  The  important  duty  which  has 
"been  placed  in  our  hands  might  have  been  entrusted  to 
"others." 

As  well  can  be  imagined,  the  last  few  words  had  made  a 
great  impression  on  each  of  the  listeners — they  stood  be- 
wildered— not  in  the  least  being  able  to  understand  the 
mysterious  words.  Old  John  seemed  utterly  perplexed  and 
kept  rubbing  his  head  and  then  his  eyes  as  if  to  be  sure  he 
was  wide  awake.  As  he  afterwards  explained  to  Mrs.  Wil- 
liamson, he  felt  really  "flabbergasted" — as  the  saying  is. 

"May  I  then  ask  who  you  gentlemen  really  are?"  said  the 
Laird  courteously.  "May  I  also  ask  why  you — each  of  you — 
"have  addressed  my  daughter  as  'my  Liege.' " 

Miss  Retta  here  interposed  by  saying :  "Uncle,  this  may  be 
"a  rather  long  narration  or  story ;  suppose  weall  adjourn  to 
"the  verandah  and  all  you  gentlemen  can  light  your  pipes 
" — I  know  you  are  all  anxious  io  smoke — and  the  tobacco 
"smoke  will  perhaps  keep  away  any  insects  from  the  Gera- 
"niums  and  other- house-flowers  Elfie  and  I  have  put  out  on 
"the  verandah"  (this  with  a  gay  laugh — in  which  everyone 
joined). 


inpfippnpiii.i  mi^m^mfj^Mimmmmmmmm  up||ppiiipf<p>ifP 


■''«"■»;  ■'■,«»'l>|M#«PW!l|! 


i86 


TA^    Search   for   a    Queen, 


After  the  whole  of  his  auditory  had  adjourned  to  the  cozy- 
verandah,  on  which  the  Library  opened,  the  Sieur  D'Ulric 
proceeded  as  follows : 

"Certainly — ^my  Liege,  Ladies  and  Gentlemen — it  is  only 
"right  that  my  friend  and  I  should  state  who  we  are  and 
"why  we  have  journeyed  hither  from  the  far-distant  Land  of 
"the  Grimalkins." 

"The  Land  of  the  Grimalkins  ?"  interposed  the  Laird. 

"Yes,  Laird,  you  will  see  those  words  imprinted  on  the 
"coin  you  hold  in  your  hand.  Perhaps  I  had  better  at  once 
"plunge  'in  medias  res' — ^as  the  saying  is." 

"What  learned  words  these  furriners  use,"  said  the  Gude 
Wife  to  Old  John  in  a  loud  under-tone.  That  gentleman 
was,  however,  too  much  bewildered — or  "flabbergasted,"  as 
he  afterwards  said — to  pay  proper  attention  to  the  under- 
tone. 

The  Sieur  smiled  pleasantly  at  the  Gude  Wife  and  con- 
tinued : 

"We  are  not  pedlars — we  are  Ministers  Plenipotentiary 
"and  Ambassadors  Extraordinary." 

"Oh,  my !"  said  Old  John,  "will  you  listen  to  that?  What's 


"a  comin'  now?" 


After  everyone  had  finished  laughing  the  Sieur  pro- 
ceeded : 

"A  few  nights  ago  His  Majesty,  King  Grimalkin  the  First 
"of  the  Fair  Land  of  the  Grimalkins,  announced  to  both 
"Houses  of  Parliament  his  wish  and  intention  to  resign ;  in 
"other  words,  to  retire  from  the  Throne,  and  the  Crown, 
"and  the  Coins,  and  the  Postage  Stamps  of  the  Realm ;  and 
"furthermore,  he  resigned  in  favor  of  a  Queen." 

"'Pears  to  me,"  interrupted  Old  John,  a-rubbing  his  head 
— "this  story  is  a-commencing  in  a  way  to  resemble  that 
"Fairy  Tale  you  'Bonnie  Leddies'  sometimes  tell." 

"Hush,  [:!ease,  Old  John,"  said  Miss  Retta.  "We  are  so 
"anxious  to  hear  this  story — it  certainly  commences  to  sound 
"like  a  Fairy  Tale." 

Then  the  Sieur  continued — smiling  pleasantly  at  Old 
John.  "His  Majesty,  however,  resigned  in  fovar  of  a  Queen 
"who  was  not  known  to  him — in  fact,  he  resigned  in  favor 


The   Search   for    a    Queen. 


187 


pro- 
First 
both 
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;  and 


Old 
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favor 


"of  a  Queen  thereafter  to  be  chosen  and  elected ;  and  what 
"is  more,  he  resigned  that  the  Queen  be  chosen  and  elected 
"from  without  the  Land ;  in  other  words,  no  Lady  living 
"within  the  limits  of  the  Land  of  the  Grimalkins  was  to  be 
"eligible  for  the  office." 

"I'm  pretty  sure  this  is  very  much  like  your  Fairy  Tale, 
"  'Bonnie  Leddies,'  "  interrupted  Old  John. 

"I'm  commencing  to  think  so,  too,"  added  the  Gude  Wife. 

Smiling  pleasantly  at  the  Gude  Wife  and  Old  John,  the 
Sieur  proceeded : 

"The  King  in  announcing  to  the  Assembled  Houses  of 
Parliament  his  wish  ^d  intention  to  retire  in  favour  of  a 
"Queen  to  be  chosen  from  without  the  Land  stated  that  he 
"wished  that  the  choice  and  election  be  left  in  the  hands  of 
"myself  and  my  friend,  M.  Machelle." 

"Why,  of  course,  my  dears,"  interposed"  the  Gude  Wife — 
"this  is  your  Fairy  Tale  come  true — these  gentlemen  are  not 
"Pedlars  at  all — they  are  the  'Princes  in  Disguise'  you  have 
"often  told  us  about !" 

"Aye!  Aye — I  guess  that's  it  alright,"  said  Old  John. 

Smiling  pleasantly  at  the  beaming  face  of  the  Gude  Wife 
and  the  bewildered  face  of  Old  John,  the  gallant  Sieur  pro- 
ceeded : 

"A  Resolution  was  unanimously  passed  by  both  Houses 
"of  Parliament  in  Congress  Assembled — the  Noble  and 
"Hereditary  House  of  Sieurs — and  the  Commons'  House — 
"accepting  with  deep  regret  the  resignation  of  his  Majesty 
"and  vesting  in  my  friend  and  myself  the  appointment ;  in 
"other  words,  a  Resolution  was  unanimously  passed  by  both 
"Houses  of  Parliament  appointing  my  friend  and  myself 
"Joint  Ministers  Plenipotentiary  and  Ambassadors  Extra- 
"ordinary  with — with  what  power,  old  man?"  the  Sieur 
"asked  turnmg  to  the  Sessional  Writer. 

That  gentleman  solemnly  said,  and  as  if  he  were  reading 
something  out  of  a  Book : 

"'To  proceed  without  the  Realm  and  there  to  elect  and 

choose  and  make  choice  of  a  Faire  Ladye,  or  a  Brunette 

Ladye  as  the  Queen  of  the  Land  of  the  Grimalkins,  and 

having  elected  and  chosen  and  made  choice  of  the  Faire 


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WEBSTER,  N.Y.  14580 

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The   Search   for   a   Queen, 


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*or  Brunette  Ladye  aforesaid,  to  lead  and  conduct  her — 

'her  consent  firstly  being  thereunto  obtained — to  the 
"  Throne  of  the  Land  aforesaid  amidst  the  plaudits  of  a 

happy  People.'" 

Then  the  Sessional  Writer  again  relapsed  into  silence. 

"Hear!  Hear!"  cried  the  genial  Sieur,  "M..  Machelle, 
you've  got  that  off  'Pat' — as  the  saying  is." 

"Hear!  Hear!"  cried  Old  John.  "The  Fairy  Tale  is  cer- 
tainly comin'  true!" 

"I  do  not  know,"  continued  the  Sieur,  "that  I  need  add 
anything  further  except  to  say  that  we  rejoice  in  the  fact 
"that  we  have  been  able  so  quickly  and  speedily  to  fulfil  the 
"grave  and  responsible  duties  entrusted  to  us — at  any  rate 
"the  first  part  of  our  duties — the  making  choice  of  a  Queen 
"and  so.  My  Liege"  (here  the  Sieur  arose  from  his  seat  and 
bowed  low  before  Miss  Elfie — ^the  Sessional  Writer  also 
arose  and  bowed  low)  "nothing  remains  for  us  to  do  at  this 
"present  moment  but  to  congratulate  ourselves  and  the  Fair 
"Land  of  the  Grimalkins  on  our  unanimous  choice  and  to 


4t 


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cry: 


"'Vive  La  Reine!'" 


*'»■ 


"  'Vive  La  Reine !' "  repeated  the  Sessional  Writer. 
At  this  juncture  a  most  affecting  incident  occurred :  Old 
John  threw  himself  at  the  feet  of  the  Queen-Elect  and  cried, 
"Oh,  Miss  Elfie — I  mean  Your  Majesty — when  you  go  to 
"your  new  Kingdom,  please  don't  leave  Old  John  behind.  It 
"would  be  so  lonely  here  without  you.  You  know  I've  ai- 
rways been  with  you ;  when  you  were  a  little  wee  babie — a 
"little  wee  lambie  like — I  nursed  you  on  my  knee — ^please 
"take  Old  John  with  you  when  you  go!" 

Then  the  old  man  continued  with  impetuosity  and  speak- 
ing rapidly  and  very  much  in  earnest : 

You  remember,  I  have  alwuz  believed  that  Fairy  Tale 
you  'Bonnie  Leddies'  have  so  often  and  so  prettily  told. 
I  alwuz  said  the  'Princes  in  Disguise'  would  come  from  a 
"foreign  country  and  that  you  would  be  yet  a  Queen  over 
some  fair  Land — and  you  know  I  alwuz  reminded  you  that 
you  must  take  us  all  with  you — all  those  you  love." 


*t. 


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tiLt'ti'T 


The  Search   for   a   Queen, 


189 


The  Queen-Elect  was  crying  partly  from  joy  that  now  all 
her  father's  troubles  were  over  and  for  ever — ^and  partly  out 
of  sympathy  with  the  faithful  old  man.  She  arose  from  her 
chair  and  assisted  Old  John  to  rise,  saying  kindly  to  him  as 
she  put  her  arms  round  his  neck :  "Old  John,  as  I  often  have 
"said — if  that  Fairy  Tale  ever  did  come  true  I  would  never 
"go  away  unless  I  could  take  with  me  all  those  I  love  so 
"well ;  and  you  are  one — ^you  know  you  are,  Old  John." 

The  Queen  had  no  sooner  sat  down  than  the  Gude  Wife 
came  softly  to  her  and  putting  one  arm  around  her  neck  and 
with  her  other  hand  caressingly  stroking  her  fair,  golden 
hair,  half-crying  and  half-laughing,  said :  "Oh,  Miss  Elfie, 
"I'm  so  glad  that  Fairy  Tale  has  come  true.  I  said  to  the 
"Gudeman  that  I  was  sure  these  Furriners  were  distin- 
"guished  men  in  their  own  country — ^and  it  was  only  this 
"morning  at  breakfast  time  I  was  talking  about  that  pretty 
"Fairy  Tale  and  I  meant  to  mention  it  to  you  to-day  and  to 
"ask  you  whether  these  gentlemen  may  not  be  'the  Princes 
"  'in  Disguise'  you've  told  us  about."  Then  the  Gude  Wife 
added:  "When  you  go— don't  forget  the  Gudeman  and  me 
" — it  would  be  so  lonesome  without  your  merry  laugh." 

Then  the  beautiful  Retta  went  over  to  the  Queen-Elect 
and  said  sweetly:  "I  suppose,  Elfie,  darling,  I  must  learn 
"to  call  you,  like  these  gentlemen,  'My  Liege* — but  it  will 
"take  me  some  time  to  say  that.  Oh,  Elfie,  dear,  I'm  so 
"glad — not  only  for  your  own  sake — ^but  for  Uncle's  sake  1" 

Here  Old  John  interrupted  by  exclaiming:  "What  care- 
"we  for  the  Old  Miser?  A  fig  for  all  old  Misers!  Didn't 
"I  always  say  so?" 

"You  certainly  did  make  use  of  some  such  an  expression, 
"Old  John,"  replied  the  Laird — smiling  pleasantly  at  the 
faithful  old  servant. 

Then  the  Laird  said  to  the  Sieur: 

"Am  I  to  understand  that  you  gentlemen  are  'Princes  in 
"'Disguise'?" 

"We  are  not  'Princes,'"  answered  M.  Machelle;  "there 
"are  no  'Princes* — so  called  in  our  country.  This  gentle- 
"man  is  the  nearest  approach  to  a  'Prince'  we  have — ^he  be- 
"ing  a  'Sieur' — ^and  as  such  a  member  of  'the  Noble  and 


190 


The  Search  for  a   Queen, 


it  <i 


m 


Hereditary  House  of  Sieurs/  as  it  is  {ormally  called.  It 
"is  the  Upper  House  in  Parliament.  I  am  only  a  plain  coun- 
"try  gentleman — in  other  words,  I  am  a  Sheep  Rancher  on 
''the  Blue  Mountains  when  at  home.  In  order  to  be  near  my 
"friend  our  comrade  as  much  as  possible,  some  years 
"ago  I  obtained  through  the  kind  offices  of  my  friend  and 
"the  eqi!a|ly  kind  assistance  of  His  Majesty,  the  position  of 
"Sessional  Writer  in  'the  Noble  and  Hereditary  House  of 
"  'Sieurs/  and  so  throughout  the  sittings  of  Parliament  I  am 
"still  enabled  to  be  near  my  friend." 

"I  should  add  to  my  friend's  statements/'  said  the  Sieur, 
with  a  kindly  smile,  "that  I  also  am  'a  plain  country  gentle- 
"  'man' — ^to  quote  my  friend's  words — and  I  can  also  say 
"with  him  that  'I  am  a  Sheep  Rancher  on  the  Blue  Moun- 
"  'tains  when  at  home.* " 

"How  romantic!"  said  Miss  Retta. 

"Perhaps  it  might  interest  these  fair  ladies — I  should  say 
"Her  Majesty,  and  Miss  Retta  and  Mrs.  Willianson" — said 
M.  Machelle — ^"if  we  were  to  mention  the  fact  that  His  pres- 
"ent  Majesty  is  so  much  in  love  with  the  simple,  plain,  coun- 
"try  life  of  a  Sheep  Rancher  on  the  Blue  Mountains,  that — 
"as  he  himself  announced  in  Parliament  the  other  night — ^he 
"intends  hereafter — ^and  to  use  his  own  very  words — if  I 
"remember  rightly— ^and  to  speak  verbatim  et  literatim,  and 
"to  quote  ipsissinca  verba.    The  fact  is,  your  Excellency, 

Nobles  and  Gentlemen  Gwnmoners,  I  wish  to  be  a  Sheep 

Rancher  and  to  tend  my  sheep  on  the  Blue  Mountains.' " 

"How  romantic,  indeed,"  murmured  'the  Bonnie  Led- 
"'dies/" 

"These  Furriners  use  a  powerful  lot  of  learned  words — 
"don't  they.  Old  John?"  said  Mr.  Williamson  to  the  faithful 
old  servant. 

Old  Jahn  only  answered — speaking  partly  to  himself  and 
plEirtly  to  his  friend :  "I  alluz  said  that  that  'ere  purty  Fairy 
**Tale  would  come  true — and  so  it  has  I" 


« ( 


« ( 


UMi&i 


Act  IV. 

THE  JOURNEY  TO  THE  THRONE. 

S  c  B  N  X  :  Flnt  in  the  Wildi  of  New  Ontario;  then  in  the  Sub- 
terranean Channel  leading  from  Lake  Superior  into  the 
Land  of  the  Grknalkins. 

Tsmporb:  King  William  the  Fourth,  of  England,  and  King 
Grimalkin  the  First,  of  the  Land  of  the  Grimalkins. 


>  >» 


and 
•airy 


Y  this  time  it  had  got  pretty  well  on  in  the  after- 
noon and  Miss  Retta  jumping  up  said :  "May  it 
please  your  Majesty,  and  everyone,  Old  John 
"and  I  will  go  and  get    Lunch — if    you    will 
"excui«  us." 
Miss  Elfie  said,  laughing  merrily,  "I  am  not  a 
"Queen  yet — except,  perhaps,  I  may  be  one  of  the  Queens 
"of  this  Household.    And  I  will  go  with  you,  Retta,  dear, 
"and  help  you  get  Lunch." 

"But,  my  Liege,  you  mustn't  think  of  such  a  thing,"  said 
Retta  laughing — "the  very  idea  of  a  Queen  getting  Lunch 
"for  anybody!" 

"All  I  can  say,  Retta,  dear,  is  this :  "If  the  fact  of  my  be- 
"ing  a  Queen-Elect  is  going  to  prevent  me  assisting  you 
"and  Old  John  in  the  discharge  of  our  household  duties 
"whilst  we  remain  at  Summertrees — ^then  I'll  do  the  same  as 
"his  present  Majesty  has  done,  or  rather — I  will  resign  my 
"present  position  as  Queen-Elect." 

Of  course  Miss  Elfie  laughed  merrily  when  she  said  these 
words;  but  everyone  knew  she  meant  what  she  said,  and  so 
with  a  courteous  bow  to  those  present,  the  Queen-Elect  went 
oft  to  the  kitchen  arm-in-arm  with  Miss  Retta  and  Old  John. 

M.  Machelle  followed  Miss  Retta  with  his  eyes  as  long  as 
ht  could  see  her,  and  then  when  the  trio  had  disappeared  in 
the  distance  he  turned  to  the  Gude  Wife  and  said :  "Do  you 
"thmk  I  could  be  of  any  assistance  out  there  in  the  way  of 
"putting  on  a  lire  or  anything  like  that  ?  I  am  a  great  hand 
"at  building  a  Camp  Fire  quickly — ^as  the  Sieur  there 
"knows." 

"A  Camp  Fire  quickly-— ^as  the  Sieur  there  knows." 


.isft^x/^a?; 


193 


The  Journey  to  the  Throne. 


t^'- 


w- 


"Well,  come  along,  sir,"  said  the  Gude  Wife.  "FU  take 
"you  out  to  the  kitchen  and  I'll  tell  'the  Bonnie  Leddies'  you 
'wish  to  help  them.    Come  along  with  me.'' 

So,  taking  the  arm  which  the  Sessional  Writer  gallantly 
offered  her  the  Gude  Wife  proceeded  to  the  kitchen  and  said 
to  the  astonished  trio  who  were  busily  at  work  preparing 
Lunchcofi: 

"This  gentleman  washed  to  know  whether  he  could  not 
"help  'the  Bonnie  Leddies'  get  Lunch  ready.  He  thought 
''perhaps  he  could  build  a  fire  in  the  kitchen  stove  pretty 
"quickly.  At  any  rate  he  says  he  is  a  good  hand  to  build 
"Camp  Fires.'* 

The  trio  laughed  merrily  and  Mass  Retta  said:  "I'm 
"afraid  Old  John  would  be  jealous  if  any  one  were  to  usurp 
"his  place.** ' 

Old  John,  by  the  way,  had  already  built  a  fire  and  got  the 
kettle  on — ^and  in  a  few  minutes  it  was  singing  merrily. 

"You  can  stay  and  watch  us  if  you  like" — said  the  Queen 
Elect — ^"but  we  can't  promise  to  give  you  anything  to  do." 

In  a  few  minutes  the  Gudeman  strolled  out  and  when  the 
guests  went  in  to  Luncheon  the  Sessional  Writer  had  the 
honour  of  leading  into  thedining  room  the  fair  Brunette. 

On  the  way  in  he  managed  to  say: 

"I  understand  in  the  Fairy  Tale  you  are  to  be  Lady  in 
"Waiting  to  the  Queen." 

"I  hope  so,"  said  Miss  Retta — ^"it  would  be  so  lonesome 
"without  Elfie.'* 

"When  you  become  Lady  in  Waiting  to  Her  Majesty," 
said  the  Sessional  Writer,  "I  h<^e  you  won't  become  so 
"proud  and  haughty  as  not  to  speak  to  a  plain  country  gen- 
"tleman,  a  simple  sheep  rancher  from  the  Blue  Mountains, 
"if  we  should  happen  to  meet  any  time." 

The  winsome  girl  laughed  merrily,  but  made  no  promise 
one  way  or  the  other.    All  she  said  was: 

"M.  Mkchelle,  I  can't  make  any  rash  promises." 

In  the  meantime  the  Sieur  and  the  Laird  had  been  left 
alone. 

As  soon  as  the  'Sessional  Writer  had  left  the  room  the 
Sieur  said:    "111  tell  you  what  we  can  be  doing  to  'while 


j.'«afei-.\*:>« 


B  i»  iftaJiotS-  V  ii">r* 


.■V    t-  .i.  ••  ^P-r, 


...vtt~-:\   ,- W*---:! 


The  Journey  to   the   Throne. 


193 


idy  in 


romise 


tn  kft 

Im  the 
'while 


"away  the  time — as  the  saying  is — until  the  folks  return: 
"if  you  will  kindly  get  me  a  sheet  of  note  paper  I  will  draw 
"for  Her  Mrjesty  and  in  fine  for  you  all  a  rough  map  or 
"sketch  showing  roughly  and  of  course  only  approximately 
"the  position  of  the  leading  towns  in  the  Kingdom — and  I 
"will  show  the  classic  Cattawaul  River — and  also  the  beau- 
"tiful  Blue  Mountains  which  I  nave  mentioned/' 

"Thank  you,  Sieur,"  said  the  Laird,  "come  into  the 
"Library  and  I  will  get  you  some  paper  and  a  pen  and  ink. 
"If  you  will  kindly  prepare  such  a  rough  sketch  as  you 
"mention  it  would  enable  us  all  in  a  few  minutes,  I  am 
"sure,  to  learn  a  good  deal  about  your  country." 

So  in  a  few  minutes  the  Sieiu*  was  hard  at  work  with  the 
pen  which  the  Laird  lent  him,  and  before  long  he  had  pre- 
pared a  rough  map  or  sketch  on  the  lines  he  had  indicated. 

The  party  had  a  merry  Lunch  during  which  the  Laird 
made  the  announcement  that  the  Sieur  had  kindly  made  a 
rough  sketch  or  map  roughly  showing  the  leading  features 
of  the  fair  Land  of  the  Grimalkins. 

"Yes,"  said  the  Sieur,  "but  it  is  very  rough — and  only 
"shows  the  features  approximately,  as  one  might  say. 
"However,  we  can  use  it — as  it  were — as  an  'object  lesson' 
" — and  after  Lunch  is  over  I  will  be  glad  to  give  you — with 
"the  help  of  the  rough  map  and  with  the  help  of  M.  Mach- 
"ellc — a  rough  idea  of  our  country — ^and  its  geography,  or 
"should  I  say  topography?" 

"These  furriners  use  very  learned  words— don't  they.  Old 
"John?"  said  the  Gude  Wife. 

"Sartainly,"  said  that  gentleman,  "but  I  always  said — 
"didn't  I — ^that  that  Fairy  Tale  would  come  true,  and  so  it 
"has,  hasn't  it?" 

"You  are  a  dear  old  goose !"  said  Miss  Retta, 

"You  are  and  always  have  been  our  good  friend,"  said 
the  Queen  Elect. 

After  Luncheon  was  over  the  merry  party  gathered 
around  the  Library  Table  and  the  Sieur  proditced  the  rough 
map  he  had  drawn'*'  and  taking  a  pencil  in  his  hand  as  a 
pointer  began  his  Lecture  on  the  Tracing  Board  as  follows: 

*Bee  Frontispiece. 


18 


mfi^m 


^^(m. 


194 


The  Journey  to   the   Throne. 


"This,  my  fair  Liege,  Ladies  and  Gentlemen  is  a  rough 
"outHne  map,  as  it  were,  of  the  Fair  Land  of  which  you, 
"my  Liege,  are  already — as  one  may  say — Queen  de  jure,  if 
not  de  facto." 

"Hear!  Hear!"  said  th€  Sessional  Writer. 

"Them  Furriners  use  very  learned  words,  Old  John, 
"don't  they  now?"  said  the  Gude  Wife  to  the  faithful  old 
servant,  who  was  leaning  over  the  Librarj'  Table  staring 
very  hard  at  the  map — in  fact,  he  was  so  much  pre-occupied 
that  he  did  not  hear  the  remark  made  by  the  Gude  Wife — 
but  the  Sieur  heard  it — ^and  he  gave  a  kindly  smile  to  Mrs. 
Williamson  as  he  proceeded  with  his  Exemplification : 
•  "This  is  the  classic  Cattawaul  River,  which  flows  through 
"the  land  from  North  to  South — as  it  were — and  which  is 
"the  great  Artery  of  Commerce  in  the  Land — as  one  might 
"say — the  great  Highway  of  Commerce.  Some  folks  say 
"that  when  the  proposed  Railways  are  finished  and  running 
"there  will  not  be  so  much  business  done  on  the  River  as 
"in  former  times,  but  I  do  not  know  as  to  that.  Here,  you 
"see,  are  the  projected  lines  of  Railway — ^two  great  Trunk 
"Lines,  as  it  were — 'Le  Grand  Sud  Chemin  de  Fer' — 
"already  in  course  of  construction — ^to  start  at  the  Capital 
" — here — Mieauburg — ^and  to  run  down  this  way  to  the 
"Shore  at  Catburg  West  and  then  to  deflect  a  little  and  run 
"this  way  South  to  the  Shore  line  at  a  point  opposite  the 
"rising  City  of  Pussyburg.  I  think  the  intention  is  to  put 
"on  a  large  Ferry  between  Catburg  East  and  Catburg  West 
" — and  another  one  between  the  Railway  Station  opposite 
"Pussyburg  and  that  important  town.  Then  the  projected 
"  *Le  Grand  Occident  Chemin  de  Fer'  will  start  from  Cat- 
"burg  West  and  run  westerly  into  the  fertile  District  of 
"Pussantra: — the  country  where  the  fragrant  tea  and  the 
"fragrant  tobacco  grow  so  well,  you  know.  Old  John," 
added  the  Sieur,  addressing  the  faithful  servant. 

'^Maybe,  sur — ^in  fac*  if  you  gentlemen  say  so  I'll  believe 
"it — ^but  I  never  heard  of  any  of  those  foine  places  afore." 

Then,  of  course,  everyone  laughed. 

The  Laird  then  said:  "I  suppose  these  proposed  Lines 
"of  Railway — or  Les   Chemins  de  Fer — will  be  somewhat 


-,iaiw4 


,„9.:^ 


,:'tM^:- 


'^S 


i    •   •    . 


.'wiiN^PKyi'.r' 


TAtf  Journey  to  the   Throne. 


195 


"similar  to  the  line  of  Railway  which  I  hear  is  being  built, 
**or  perhaps  may  already  have  been  built,  between  the 
"Cities  of  Manchester  and  Liverpool  in  England.  It  is 
"said  that  a  big  railway — in  fact,  what  you  called  a  Trunk' 
"Lanc^ — is  to  be  built  between  the  towns  of  Quebec  and 
"Mount  Royale — in  fact,  I  think  it  is  proposed  to  continue 
"it  to  Little  Muddy  York  one  of  these  days;  it  is  to  be  called 
"'Le  Grand  Trunk.'" 

"Probably,"  said  the  Sieur.  "Our  'railways' — as*  they  call 
"them^-exist  as  yet  only  on  paper  and  in  Acts  of  Parlia- 
"ment  concerning  which  our  friend  here — the  Sessional 
"Writer— could  tell  you." 

Then  he  continued — illustrating  and  punctuating— ^as  it 
were — his  remarks  with  his  pencil  as  he  proceeded: 

"This,  then  is  the  Capital — where  the  Houses  of  Parlia- 
"ment  meet — where  the  Royal  Palace  is — ^where  Has  Maj- 
"esty  King  Grimalkin  resides  and  where  you,  my  fair  Liege, 
"will  reside,  I  hope,  in  the  very  near  future." 

"Oh.myf'saidRetta. 

"Fancy  the  loikes  of  that,"  said  Old  John.  "Didn't  I 
''always  say  that  Fairy  Tale  would  come  true?" 

"The  Royal  Palace,"  continued  the  Lecturer,  "as  well  as 
"the  new  Houses  of  Parliament  front  on  a  beautiful  Square 
"or  Park,  of  which  the  Citizens  of  Mieauburg  are  justly 
proud — called  'the  Big  Square.'  There  are  spacious  ver- 
"andahs  around  the  Palace — from  the  easterly  verandah  you 
"can  get  a  good  view,  not  only  of  the  blue  waters  of  the 
"classic  Cattawaul  as  it  flows  past  the  town — ^but  also  in 
"the  distance  you  can  get  a  pretty  view  of  the  hazy  outline 
"of  the  famous  Blue  Mountains.  Oh,  they  are  really  lovely 
" — ^here  they  are,  you  see." 

"They  seem  to  be  called  'The  Backbone  Range,*  on  this 
"map,"  said  the  Laird. 

"That  is  only  another  name  for  the  Blue  Mountains;  the 
"latter  name  is  prettier — don't  you  think  so,  my  Liege  and 
"Ladies?"  asked  the  gallant  Sieur. 

"Certainly  it  sounds  more  romantic,"  said  the  Queen- 
Elect. 

"More  picturesque,"  said  Miss  Retta. 


:«. 


196 


The  Journey  to   the   Throne, 


"My  friend  and  I"— continued  the  Sieur — resuming  his 
Lecture  on  the  Tracing  Board — "are  such  lovers  of  the  Blue 
"Mountains,  and  in  fact  of  the  Beautiful  in  Nature,  that 
"perhaps  I  had  better  not  say  anything  more  concerning  the 
"Blue  Mountains  or  you  may  think  we  are  too  poetical  to 
"be  practical — in  fact,  you  may  commence  to  think  we  arc 
"so  lomantic  in  our  ideas  as  to  be  unfitted  for  the  very 
"grave  and  very  solemn  and  very  practical  position  and 
"office  to  which  we  have  been  appointed — that  of  Ministers 
"Plenipotentiary  and  Ambassadors  Extraordinary." 

"Not  at  all,"  said  the  Queen  Elect. 

"Not  at  all — we  just  love  Poetry  and  Romance,"  said 
Miss  Retta. 

"And  we  too  love  the  Beautiful  in  Nature,"  added  the 
fair  Queen-Elect. 

"When  you  come  to  know  our  friend  and  comrade.  His 
"Majesty  King  Grimalkin  the  First,  you  probably  may  hear 
"from  his  lips  an  eloquent  description  of  the  Beauties  of 
"the  Blue  Mountains;  he  is  so  much  in  love  with  them  that 
"he  is  coming  down  from  off  his  Throne  and  from  oflf  his 
"place  on  the  Yens  and  postage  stamps  of  the  Nation  to 
"become  a  simple  dweller  in  yon  Blue  Mountains." 

"Isn't  that  Romantic — I  hope  we  shall  soon  meet  His 
"Majesty,"  said  Miss  Retta. 

"I  think  His  Majesty  must  have  the  heart  of  the  true 
"Poet,"  said  the  Queen  Elect.  "I  shall  also  be  very  pleased 
"to  meet  him." 

"His  Majesty  is  indeed  a  Poet — a  true  Lover  of  the  Beau- 
"tiful  in  Nature,"  said  M.  Machelle,  "a  large-hearted,  noble- 
"minded  man — *a  man  every  inch  of  him' — as  the  saying  is." 

Then  the  Sieur  added:  "My  Liege,  on  your  journey  to 
"your  Throne  you  will  meet — and  I  hope  the  meeting  will 
"take  place  before  long — another  'Child  of  Naturue' — ^an- 
"other  Lover  of  the  Beautiful  in  Nature — another  true  Poet 
^ — our  friend  Oscar  the  Sage." 

"  'Oscar  the  Sage?' "  repeated  the  Laird.    "Who  is  he?" 

"He  is  a  Savant,  a  Sage,  a  Philosopher,  a  Poet,  who  loves 
"so  well  the  Beauties  of  Nature — who  loves  so  well  the  Blue 
"Mountains  that  some  years  ago  he   went  back   into  the 


The  Jo 


uming  his 
)f  the  Blue 
ature,  that 
eniing  the 
poetical  to 
tik  we  are 
r  the  very 
iition  and 
\  Ministers 


urney  to   the   Throne 


»97 


ince,"  said 

added  the 

tirade,  His 
^  may  hear 
(eauties  of 
them  that 
om  off  his 
Nation  to 

meet  His 

f  the  true 
;ry  pleased 

the  Beau- 
ted,  noble- 
saying  is." 
journey  to 
eeting  will 
urue' — ^an- 
•  true  Poet 

Tio  is  he?" 

who  loves 

11  the  Blue 

:   into   the 


%w?l 


<-^mr?xn'^i^^m^f;sff3^^!^n!: 


198 


Tht  Journey  to   the  Throne, 


"inner  recesses  of  the  Mountains  back  of  the  Capital  and 
"became  a  dweller  there — his  home  is  right  on  the  very 
"'Height  of  Land/  as  it  is  called — ^just  above  here,  my 
"Liege,  Ladies  and  Gentlemen.  In  fact,  but  for  the  kind 
"services  of  'Oscar  the  Sage' — *the  Hiermit  of  the  Moun- 
"  'tains' — as  some  of  the  country  folk  call  him — we  would 
"not,  in  all  probability,  be  here  to-day.  He  it  was  who  dis- 
"covered  the  secret  of  the  Subterranean  Channel." 

'"The  Subterranean  Channel?'  What  Channel  do  you 
"mean,  Sieur?"  enquired  the  host. 

"Well,  one  would  have  thought  you  folks  round  here 
"would  know  all  about  it;  the  Inlet  is  not  far  from  here — 
"on  the  Lake  Shore,  you  know,"  replied  the  Sieur. 

"I  don't  remember  to  have  heard  of  any  Inlet  to  any  Sub- 
"terranean  Channel  down  along  the  shore — though  I  know 
"the  coast  pretty  well,"  said  the  Laird. 

Then  he  continued — addressing  Old  John  and  the  Gude- 
man  and  his  wife :  "Do  you  folks  know  of  any  Subterran- 
"ean  Channel  or  any  Inlet  to  one — down  along  the  Shore 
"of  the  Big  Lake?" 

"I'll  tell  you.  Laird,"  said  Old  John,  "what  the  Sieur— as 
"you  call  him — may  mean;  you  know  the  Cave  or  the 
"Cavern  down  on  the  Shore  near  the  mouth  of  Kelly's 
"Creek — ^what  they  sometimes  call — or  used  to  call  years 
"ago— 'the  Smuggler's  'Cave?' " 

"Ah,  yes,  I  remember  now — what  about  it.  Old  John?" 
said  the  Laird. 

"Well,  they  do  say  that  Cave  runs  a  long  way  into  the 
"mountain  and  that  you  could  take  a  boat  or  a  canoe  quite 
"a  long  way  in — I  don't  know  how  far;  I  never  went  in  to 
"see — and  I  never  heard  tell  of  any  one  who  did;  it  is  all 
"dark  in  there — can't  see  nothing.  It  is  quite  a  big  open- 
"ing — pei^haps  that  is  the  Inlet  the  gentleman  is  telling 
"about;  if  he  would  take  me  to  the  place  and  show  me  I 
"could  soon  tell,  of  course,  whether  we  are  talking  about 
the  same  place." 

"Let  me  show  you  a  little  sketch  or  picture  of  the  place, 
"Old  John,"  said  the  Sieur,  "is  this  the  place?"  (Here  the 
Sieur  took   from   his  Note  Book  the  little  rough  sketch* 

*See  Sketch  preceding  page. 


Thf  Journey   to   the   Throne. 


199 


[ohn?'^ 

to  the 
quite 
in  to 
is  all 
open- 
telling 
me  1 
about 


which  he  had  made  to  show  Oscar  the  Sage — and  placed  it 
on  the  table  by  the  side  of  the  oth^r  rough  sketch.) 

"You  really  do  draw  beautifully,  Sieur,"  said  Miss  Retta, 
with  a  smile. 

"Thank  you,"  replied  the  Sieur,  with  a  low  bow. 

"Why  of  course — that's  the  wery  identical  place,"  said  Old 
John,  after  examining  the  sketch  carefully.  "I  guess  arter 
"all  there  may  be  quite  a  Channel  running  away  in  under 
"yon  mountains.  Be  yon  the  same  Blue  Mountains  you 
•"were  talking  about  just  now?"  added  the  old  servant. 

Then,  whilst  the  Queen  Elect  and  the  others  present  ex- 
amined the  sketch,  the  Sieur  proceeded: 

"My  Liege,  Ladies  and  Gentletnen,  in  answer  to  Old 
"John's  last  question :  I  am  not  sure  whether  I  did  right 
"in  writing  the  words  The  Backbone  Range'  on  the  hills 
"shown  in  this  last  sketch  or  not — but  I  fancy  I  am  right. 
"I  have  about  come  to  the  conclusion  that  these  very  hills 
"here — this  very  Range  of  Mountains  in  which  this  fair 
"estate  of  Summertrees  is  situated — are  a  part  or  a  continu- 
"ation,  as  it  were,  of  our  Blue  Mountains,  or  as  they  are 
"called  in  our  school  maps — 'the  Backbone  Range.'  There 
"is  another  point  I  wish  to  mention:  When  I  was  at  'the 
"  'Corners'  or  'the  Sue' — whichever  is  the  right  term — yes- 
"terday  I  saw  a  lovely  sheet  of  water  which  looked  to  me 
"almost  exactly  like  the  classic  Cattawaul  River  shown  on 
"this  first  sketch;  if  I  could  only  have  seen  a  picturesque 
"  'stone-hooker'  a  sailing  by  or  a  lying  at  some  wharf  I 
"would  have  said  the  resemblance  was  complete — in  fact, 
"that  it  must  be  the  classic  Cattawaul." 

"Papa,  perhaps  you  might  tell  the  Sieur,  for  his  general 
"information,  that  the  River  at  't!^^  Sue'  is  the  same  water 
"as  in  the  Big  Lake  near  here — or  in  other  words,  that  the 
"water  in  the  Big  Lake  discharges  or  empties  itself  into  an- 
"othicT  Big  Lake  further  down  the  shore  by  means  of  the 
"beautiful  River  he  saw  yesterday  at  'the  Sue.' " 

"So  I  understood,  my  Liege  from  Mr.  Williamson — and 
"he  kindly  pointed  out  to  me  the  Big  Rapids  or  Falls  which 
"are  in  the  same  River  and  not  far  from  'the  Comers ;'  in 
"fact,  we  heard  the  sound  of  the  Rapids  when  we  were  driv- 


••w  ■ 


*,« 


200 


The  Journey  to   the   Throne. 


4 


•~j-\i 


"ing  along  the  Road  and  before  we  reached  'the  Sue,'  and 
"we  then  asked  about  the  matter." 

"This  is  all  certainly  very  interesting,"  said'  the  Laird. 
"Kindly  show  me  on  your  first  sketch  whereabouts — 
"roughly  speaking,  of  course — did  you  enter  the  Subterran- 
"ean  Channel." 

"Well,"  said  the  Sieur,  "here's  the  'Northern  Trail'  run- 
"ning  back  from  the  Capital — roughly  speaking — 'Sage 
"Oscar's  Cavern,  that  is,  the  Cavern  in  which  he  lives  and 
"his  Cedar-Log  Cottage  are  about  here — and  the  Cavern  in 
"which  we  found  the  Subterranean  Channel  would  be  about 
"here"  (as  he  spyoke  the  Sieur  indicated  with  his  pencil  the 
approximate  position   of  the  places  to  which  he  referred). 

"You  see,"  he  continued,  "we  did  not  start  our  journey  at 
"the  Outlet — we  do  not  know  where  the  Outlet  is — nor  are 
"we  concerned  in  that  question — not  at  present  anyway;  we 
"found  the  Subterranean  Channel  gently  flowing  through  a 
"large  Cavern  or  Cave — or  rather  at  the  end  of  it — Sage 
"Oscar  made  the  discovery  last  fall; — it  is  a  very  interesting 
"subject,  my  Liege;  I  am  sure  you  all  will  be  glad  to  discuss 
"the  whole  matter  with  Sage  Oscar  when  you  see  him.  He 
"will  tell  you  how  he  came  to  make  the  discovery — and  in 
"fact  all  about  it.  Perhaps  I  should  say — to  make  my  story 
"more  intelligible — that  for  some  time  past  Sage  Oscar  has 
"been  under  the  belief  that  there  was  a  great  country  lying 
"to  the  Northward  of  our  Land,  if  we  only  could  find  a  way 
"to  it.  He  had  mentioned  this  belief  to  the  King,  and  so 
"when  it  was  decided  that  we  should  start  to  go  without  the 
"Land  the  King  suggested  we  should  travel  to  the  abode  of 
"  'the  Hermit  of  the  Mountains'  and  talk  over  the  whole 
"matter  with  him.  We  did  so,  and  here  we  are."  Then 
the  Sieur  laughed  gayly. 

"Supposing  the  Hermit  or  the  Sage  (I  suppose  the  gen- 
"tleman  is  both — occupies  both  positions — as  it  were)  could 
"not  have  shown  you  a  way  out  of  your  Land  to  the  North, 
"how  would  you  have  got  out?"  asked  the  Laird. 

"We  would  perforce  have  had  to  follow  the  Qassic  Catta- 
"waul  down  south  until  we  came  to  'the  furthest  Ind'  and  to 
"the  Great  Sea"  answered  the  Sessional  Writer. 

"How  did  you  come?"  asked  the  Queen-Elect;  "that  is, 


iiiitawsfc' 


The  Journey  to   the   Throne. 


20I 


gen- 

I  could 

forth, 

:atta- 
Ind  to 

lat  is, 


"diid  you  come  in  a  sail  boat  or  a  row  boat  or  how,  may  we 
"ask?" 

"Well,  my  Liege,  we  came  in  a  Birch-bark  Canoe  which 
"the  Sage  kindly  lent  us;  we  have  carefully  deposited  it  in 
"the  meantime  undier  the  shade  of  a  large  birch  tree  grow- 
"ing  near  the  shore  and  not  far  from  the  Inlet  of  the 
"Cavern." 

"I  know  the  tree  very  well,"  said  Old  John. 

"Did  you  come  in  the  dark,"  asked  Miss  Retta,  looking 
at  M.  Machelle,  "and  weren't  you  afraid?" 

"No — the  Sage  kindly  lent  us  a  lantern.  We  rigged  up  a 
"kind  of  mast  or  spar  near  the  bow  of  our  craft  and  to  this 
"we  fastened  the  light ;  so  we  fared  very  well — thanks  to  our 
"kind  friend,"  answered  M'achelle — addressing  the  winsome 
Retta. 

"Did  you  come  down  stream  or  up  stream?"  asked  Mr. 
Williamson. 

"Up  stream,  my  friend — but  it  was  easy  paddling;  there 
"is  hardly  any  current — as  far  as  we  could  see,"  answered 
the  Sieur. 

"Just  one  more  question,  Sieur  D'Ulric,"  said  the  Laird ; 
"how  long  did  it  take  you  to  make  the  journey  from  the 
"Cavern  in  the  Mountain  in  your  Land  to  the  Inlet  down 
"on  the  Shore  here?" 

"Well — we  left,  I  think,  about  eight  o'clock  in  the  morn- 
"ing — a  day  or  two  ago — we  slept  one  night  in  the  Cavern, 
"en  route — and  reached  Lake  Superior  the  next  afternoon 
"in  time  for  an  early  supper;  so  it  would  not  take  much  of 
'*a  mathematician  to  figure  out  the  time  we  were  actually 
"paddling.  M.  Machelle  could  tell  you  about  the  number 
"of  hours  we  were  'off  duty'  so  to  speak — we  were  not  used 
"to  paddling  and  we  took  matters  easy.  Speaking  roughly, 
"it  is  perhaps  a  paddle  of  say  sixteen  or  seventeen  hours — 
"that  is,  steady  paddling — no  stops." 

Then  the  winsome  Retta  said:  "Can  I  ask  a  question 
"about  the  first  map?  Whereabouts  do  you  gentlemen  live 
"when  you  are  at  home — ^that  is.  when  that  dreadful  Parlia- 
"ment  is  not  sitting?" 

The  Sieur  replied  courteously  and  with  a  gay  laugh:  "In 


202 


The  Journey   to   the  Throne. 


"the  first  place,  and  as  a  member  of  the  Noble  and  Hered- 
"itary  House  of  Sieurs,  which  is  one  of  the  Houses  which 
"go  to  make  up  that  'dreadful'  Parliament  to  which  you 
"have  referred,  Miss  Retta,  I  must  seriously  object  to  that 
"word;  it  is  not  a  'dreadful'  Parliament;  on  the  other  hand, 
"it  is  a  real  nice  Parliament  and  both  Houses  now  meet  in 
"a  really  beautiful  and  stately  Building  which  has  only  re- 
"cently  been  erected." 

Then  M.  Machelle  said:  "As  a  Sessional  Writer  in  the 
"aforesaid  Noble  and  Hereditary  House  of  Sieurs,  I  also 
"must  object  to  the  term;  in  fact,  Mr.  Speaker,"  (addressing 
the  Laird)  "the  words  are  highly  'unparliamentary'  and  it 
"the  Speaker  were  not  a  Lady  she  should  be  called  to  order 
"by  you,  Mr.  Speaker." 

Then  everybody  laughed,  whilst  Miss  Retta  said :  "I  am 
"still  waiting  to  hear  where  you  dreadful  people  live  when 
"you  are  at  home." 

"Oh,  that  is  a  different  matter  altogether,"  said  the  Sieur. 
"You  can  call  us  'dreadful'  as  much  as  you  like — that  is, 
"you  can  apply  the  term  to  us  respectively  and  individually; 
"but  it  should  not  be  applied  to  the  distinguished  Body  of 
"which  your  fair  Cousin  is  even  now  de  jure  if  not  de  facto 
"the  Head.  ^Now  when  we  are  at  home  we  live  away  up 
"in  the  Mountains — about  here — roughly  speaking — ^just 
"about  due  east  from  the  rising  City  of  Catburg.  The 
"now-famous  Kettlekittle  Crick — ^as  it  is  sometimes  pro- 
"nounced — takes  its  rise  either  on  my  own  Ranch  or  pretty 
"close  to  it — in  some  spring^y  land — in  fact,  a  Cedar  Swamp 
" — ^just  about  here.  M.  Machelle  lives  on  the  next  Ranch 
" — northerly  from  me.  We  have  each  six  hundre  and 
"forty  acres  of  land.  And  a  strange  thing,  sir  (addressing 
"the  Laird),  it  is — in  fact,  it  is  one  of  those  peculiar  coinci- 
"dences  to  which  I  believe  you  lately  referred;  the  land 
"around  here  bears  a  great  similarity  to  the  land  round  our 
"way — aoesn't  it,  Marchelle? — rough-looking  land  for  the 
"most  part — but  with  enough  good  arable  land  along  with 
"the  rough  land — sufficient  for  all  general  farm  purposes. 
"I  suppose  iMachelle  and  I  have  twenty  per  cent — say  a 
"fifth — good  arable  land,  as  fine  land  as  can  be  'found  out 


.-ii.^' 


The  Journey   to   the   Throne, 


203 


m 


pro- 
pretty 
wamp 
ianch 

and 
essing 
coinci- 

land 
nd  our 
or  the 
g  with 


"  'of  doors' — ^as  the  saying  is — and  the  rest  is  rough  wood- 
"land — pretty  stoney  for  the  most  part — some  of  it  rocky — 
"but  the  rough  land  as  a  rule  is  admirably  adapted  for  sheep 
"raising,  and  on  the  small'  percentage  of  first-class  land  we 
'■'can  grow  all  the  winter-fodder  and  general  farm  produce 
"we  wish— that's  about  right,  isn't  it,  M.  Machelle?" 

"Yes,"  answered  that  gentleman,  "the  same  thought  oc- 
"curred  to  me  when  walking  around  through  here — and  in 
"fact,  during  our  drive  to  'the  Sue'  yesterday;  the  country 
"seems  just  about  the  same  as  where  we  live  when  we  are 
"at  home.  I  am  glad  to  see  and  hear  that  this  country  is 
"also  admirably  well  watered;  it  is  the  same  way  with  us — 
"springs  and  spring-streams  or  'cricks,'  as  they  are  often 
"called,  in  abundance.  Wie  have  everything  to  be  thankful 
"for  in  our  part  of  the  country,  and  I  am  sure  you  have 
"here." 

"That's  so — you  are  right"  said  Mr.  Williamson — and 
everyone  murmured  their  assent. 

"There  is  only  one  objection  I  see  to  this  country,"  said 
Old  John. 

"^What  is  that?"  asked  the  Sieur.  "Rease  don't  say  *mos- 
"  'quitoes'  and  'black  flies' — because  y:e  have  them  too,  and 
"had  enough,  I  tell  you,  for  some  six  weeks  in  the  year. 
"And,  Laird,  as  another  of  those  peculiar  'coincidences,' 
"kindly  permit  me  to  mention  the  tuneful  'Miiss  Kitty' — as 
"sometimes  they  are  called — and'  the  playful  'black  fly.' 
"The  members  of  those  species  which  I  have  seen  in  this 
"country — which  I  have  had  the  pleasure  of  mieeting — as  it 
"were — have  a  very  strong  resemblance — in  fact,  a  strong 
"  'family  lik^sness' — as  it  were — to  the  members  of  the 
"species  we  have  with  us  at  home." 

"But  I  am  interrupting  you,  Old  John — pardon  me," 
added  the  courteous  Sieur. 

"The  'objection'  I  had  in  my  mind  when  I  spoke  awhile 
"back,"  said  Old  John,  "was  not  a  'Miss  Kitty'  nor  a  'Black 
"Fly' — tho'  they  are  bad  enough — it  was  a  man— or  rather 
"a  miser — called  'Covet  Grat.' " 

And  then  leveryone  laughed  and  merrily  and  with  light 
and  glad  hearts  because  all  fear  of  the  old  money-lendei 


204 


The  Journey   to   the   Throne. 


seemed  to  have  been  lifted  from  their  hearts  and  their  lives 
by  the  coming  of  the  "Princes  in  Disguise" — as  the  Gude 
Wife  still  felt  disposed  to  call  them. 

"Ah,  yes — old  Mr.  G>vet  Grab,"  said  the  Sieur.  "I  have 
"heard  about  him — in  fact,  I  have  a  pretty  good  general 
"idea  of  the  man  and  his  ways,  although  IVe  never  met 
"him.  But  we're  all  through  with  him.  We're  not  going 
"to  take  him  back  with  us  to  the  Land  of  the  Grimalkins ; 
"that  is,  unless  you  folks  are  very  anxious  that  we  should 
"take  him  with  us." 

Then  everyone  laughed  merrily  again — but  there  was  a 
moisture  in  some  of  the  merry  eyes — for  all  that — caused  by 
the  thought  of  the  great  and  imminent  danger  from  which 
they  had  been  delivered — and  so  happily  and  so  suddenly. 

"Now,  my  Liege,  Ladies  and  Gentlemen,  let  us  proceed, 
"if  you  kindly  will,  to  business.  'Bizness  afore  Pleasure,' 
'■you  know — as  the  man  said. 

"Was  that  man  named  Covet  Grab?"  asked  Old  John.  "It 
"sounds  very  much  like  something  he  might  have  said." 

Then  whilst  everybody  laughed,  the  Sieur  replied :  "Per- 
"haps  it  was — however,  we  will  never  mind  just  now  who 
"the  man  was.  Old  John,  you're  a  practical  man  and  a  good 
"hand  for  business — as  the  saying  is.  Is  there  a  Stone 
"Hoojcer  round  these  parts  hich  we  can  charter  'for  love  or 
"  'money' — as  the  saying  is  ?" 

I  never  heard  tell  of  any  sich  a  thing,"  answered  Old 
John.  "A  'Stone  Hooker !'  What  may  be  a  'Stone  Hooker,* 
"please  Sieur?" 

"Don't  you  know.  Laird?"  asked  the  Sieur. 

"No,  I  can't  say  that  I  do,"  that  gentleman  answered. 

"Nor  I,"  said  Mr.  Williamson  in  answer  to  the  look  of 
inquiry  which  the  Sieur  directed  towards  him. 

"Well — that's  strange,"  said  the  Sieur. 

"Remarkable,"  said  the  Sessional  Writer. 

"Well,  my  Liege,  Ladies  and  Gentlemen,  the  term  'Stone 

'Hooker'  is  a  term  generally  and  freely  applied  to  certain 
"picturesque  craft  which  trade  up  and  down  the  classic  Cat- 
"tawaul  River.  They  are  'general  freighters,'  so  to  speak — 
'probably  in  olden  times  they  may  only  have  been  used  in 


u  n 


«. 


The  Journey   to   the   Throne,  205 


Ik  of 


Itone 
rtain 
ICat- 
ik— 
[d  in 


"the  carrying  of  stone  for  building  purposes..  But  now-a- 
"days  they  carry  most  everything  in  the  way  of  freight  and 
"produce  and  general  merchandise.  In  fact — I  have  seen 
"then  loaded  with  peat,  with  coal,  with  iron  ore,  even  with 
"such  things  as  hay  and  oats  and  potatoes.  In  fact,  now-a- 
"days  I  fancy  you  can  charter  a  'Stone  Hooker'  to  carry 
"most  anything  in  the  way  of  freight.  They  are  pictur- 
"esque,  romantic-looking  craft — aren't  they,  old  man  ?" 

This  latter  inquiry  was  addressed  to  M.  Machelle,  who 
answered  promptly,  looking  at  Miss  Retta,  and,  in  fact,  ap- 
parently giving  his  answer  to  her  instead  of  to  the  Sieur. 

"Certainly — I  just  dote  on  a  'stone  hooker' — just  love 
"them — as  the  girls  say." 

"What  girls?"  asked  Miss  Retta. 

Then  of  course  they  all  laughed. 

"This  is  really  no  laughing  matter,"  said  the  Sieur — 
laughing,  however,  heartily  himself. 

"What  I  wanted  to  get  at  was  this:  As  near  as  I  can 
"figure  it  out  we  will  have  on  our  return  trip  nearly  enough 
"freight  to  fill  a  'Stone  Hooker.'  How  many  sheep  have 
"you  here  on  the  Ranch,  Old  John?" 

"Only  about  thirty-two  at  present,  Sieur;  all  thorough- 
"bred  Southdowns." 

"And  how  many  cows?" 

"Just  one — a  milch  cow — a  thorough-bred  Jersey,  Sieur." 

"Isn't  that  lovely !"  said  the  Sieur.    Then  he  continued : 

"Any  horses?" 

"None  at  present,  Sieur — we  had  a  good  team  but — " 

"Never  mind,  Old  John,  just  now,"  said  the  Sieur,  kindly. 
"I  was  only  trying  to  arrive  at  our  'Manifest*  or  'Bill  of 
"'Lading.*  Now,  then,  My  Liege,  Ladies  and  Gentlemen, 
"I  make  the  Bill  of  Lading  as  follows: 

"Two  horses  (from  the  Williamson  Farm,  and  respect- 
"ively  named  'Moll'  and  'Dobbin'). 

"Three  Cow  Bossies  (one  pure  Jersey  from  the  Summer- 
"trees  Estate — two  good  milch  cows — ^breed  unknown  to  me 
"at  present — from  the  Williamson  Farm).  ,      H 

"Thirty-two  sheep  ('all  thorough-bred  Southdowns* — ^as 
"Old  John  says — from  the  Summertrees  Estate). 


2o6  The  Journey   to   the   Throne. 


f 
f: 

r 
I 


%. 


"Sundry  freight :  such  as  provisions,  hay  and  oats — farm 
"implements — ^household  furniture — 

"That,"  said  the  Sieur,  "about  completes  the  'Manifest' 
"as  far  as  the  Freight  is  concerned.  Then  comes  the  Pas- 
'*sengaire  List: 

"Four  persons  (two  Ladies  and  two  Gentlemen  from 
"Summertrees). 

"Two  persons  (from  the  WiUiamson  Farm).         \ 

"The  Two  Envoys  or  Ministers  Plenipotentiary  or  Am- 
"bassadors  Extraordinary. 

"The  Passengaire  List  then  .includes  eight:  all  'first 
"Cabin'  passengaires  of  course." 

•  "Please,  sir,"  said  Old  John,  "who  were  the  last  two  peo- 
^'ple  you  mentioned  in  the  list  of  Passengaires?  'Pears  to 
''me  we  don't  know  *em." 

Then  everybody  laughed — and  Mrs.  Williamson  explained 
to  Old  John  in  a  loud  undertone— kind  of  sotto  voce  like — 
"Thems  the  two  Furriners,  you  know — themselves.  Bein' 
"as  they're  Furriners  they've  got  to  give  themselves  long 
''names,  you  know." 

"All  right,"  said  Old  John.  "I'm  satisfied." 

And  then  everybody  laughed  again  and  Old  John  joined 
in  the  laughter. 

Then  that  gentleman,  after  thinking  a  minute  or  two,  and 
after  a-rubbing  his  head  hard  two  or  three  times,  said : 

"I  say,  Sieur,  there  ain't  any  sich  a  thing  round  these  'ere 
"parts  as  a  Stone  Hooker — maybe  they  have  *em  more  down 
"the  Lakes — round  Trois  River,  Mout  Royale  an'  sich  parts 
" — ^but  it  would  not  help  us  up  here  even  if  they  had  'em 
"down  there — as  far  as  I  can  see.  But  we  have  a  couple  of 
"big  'wood-scows'  down  on  the  shore — maybe  they  would 
**do  if  we  rigged  'em  up  a  wee  bit." 

"Well  done.  Old  John!"  said  M.  Machelle,  getting  up 
from  his  seat  and  taking  the  old  man's  hand. 

"Why,  of  course  they'll  do!  Just  the  thing! — capital! 
"Hurrah!"  said  the  Sieur. 

Chen  he  added : 

* 

"That  was  a  'happy  thought,*  as  they  say,  Old  John.  How 
"do  you  folks  come  to  have  these  two  wood  scows  ?" 


The  Journey  to   the   Throne: 


207 


« < 


Then  the  Laird  said: 

"Some  years  ago,  when  we  were  doing  a  lot  of  'clearing' 
''here  at  Summertrees,  the  thought  came  to  us  that  perhaps 
"if  we  saved  some  of  our  birch  and  maple,  and  if  we  cut  it 
"into  four  foot  lengths  for  'cord  wood'  we  could  make  a  sale 
"of  it  down  at  'the  Sue' — ^"the  Corners/  I  mean,  you  know. 
"It  did  seem  toO'  bad  to  be  burning  up  on  our  'log  piles'  such 
a  lot  of  beautiful  white  maple — some  of  it  even  'curley'  or 

birdseye  maple,'  you  know — and  the  birch  is  really  fine 
"red  or  bU.ck,  you  know.  So  we  talked  the  whole  matter 
"over  with  Mr.  Jackf')n  down  at  'the  Sue'  and  he  thought 
"perhaps  he  could  make  a  sale  for  us  to  some  of  the  Tugs 
"which  once  in  a  while  come  up  to  'the  Sue.'  And  so  Old 
"John  and  I  went  to  work  and  we  got  two  or  three  neigh- 
"bours  to  help  us  and  we  soon  built  two  real  nice  'wood 
"  'scows.*  We  only  used  them  a  little  while.  We  found  it 
"did  not  pay  nearly  as  well  as  we  expected.  Mr.  Jackson 
"was  not  to  blame.  No  one  was.  You  see  by  the  time  we 
"got  the  timber  hauled  to  the  shore  in  the  winter  time — 
"during  'sleighing' — and  then  piled  on  the  'scows'  when 
"navigation  opened  and  towed  down  to  'the  Sue' — we  found 
"it  did  not  pay.  So  we  went  on  burning  our  timber  again 
"on  our  log  piles — didn't  we.  Old  John  ?'* 

"Yes,"  said  the  faithful  old  servant — "but  the  land  got  the 
"good  of  the  wood-ashes,  anyway.  It  does  a  power  o'  good 
"to  the  land." 

"What  did  you  mean  by  'rigging  them  up,'  Old  John.'" 
asked  the  Sieur;  "in  what  way  would  you  propose  to  rig 
"them  up?" 

"Well,  I  meant  p'rhaps  we  could  put  a  good  stout  railing 
"round  the  sides  to  keep  the  live  stock  from  walking  off  into 
"the  water,"  replied  Old  John. 

"Capital!  Capital!"  said  M.  Machelle. 

"Yes,  indeed!"  said  the  Sieur.  "That  is  another  of  Old 
"John's  'Happy  Thoughts.'  If  you  put  a  railing  round  the 
"  'wood  scows'  you  will  be  going  some  way  at  all  events 
"towards  changing  them  into  'Stone  Hookers.* " 

"When  can  we  go  and  inspect  these  picturesque  'schoon- 


208 


The  Journey   to   the   Throne. 


U  i 


ers' — ^as  it  were?"  asked  M.  Machelle — looking  at  Miss 
Retta  and  seemingly  addressing  his  query  to  her. 

"Right  away,  I  fancy,"  answered  that  lady — "that  is,  if 
"everyone  is  as  willing  as  I  am." 

"Well,  come  along  then,"  said  the  genial  Laird. 

It  was  a  pleasant  and  happy  walk  down  to  the  shore  where 
the  weather-beaten  old  Craft  lay.  The  gallant  Sieur  walked 
by  the  side  of  the  faire  Queen-Elect,  and  the  equally  gallant 
Sessional  Writer  escorted  the  winsome,  darkeyed  Retta. 
During  the  walk  the  young  ladies  had  of  course  many  ques- 
tions to  ask  concerning  the  Land  of  the  Grimalkins — its  na- 
tural features — its  people,  etc.  All  of  which  were  answered 
as  fully  as  possible  by  the  Envoys,  Ministers  Plenipotentiary 
and  Ambassadors  Extraordinary. 

The  "scows"  were  duly  inspected  and  approved  by  the 
merry  party.  The  Sieur  said  that  if  the  scows  were  railed  in 
as  had  been  proposed  they  might  perhaps  even  be  "mistook- 
*en"  in  the  dark  for  a  real  "genuine"  "Stone  Hooker." 

M.  Machelle  said  they  were  "just  the  'thing  to  a  T,'  as  the 
'saying  is." 

Then  the  Sieur  said  to  Old  John :  "By  what  time  will  you 
'contract  and  agree  to  have  these  two  scows  railed  in — and 

*  'watered' ;  I  mean  put  in  the  blue  waters  of  the  *Big-Sea- 
"  Water'?" 

"I  cannot  tell  exactly,  sir ;  Mr.  Williamson  and  I  will  hur- 
*ry  up  of  course — and  I  presume  the  Laird  and  you  two 
'  'Envoys' — ^as  I  think  you  called  yourselves — will  'bear  a 

*  'hand' — as  the  saying  is.  But  I  think  I  can  promise  you 
'that  by  this  time  to-morrow  arter  noon  we  will  be  ready 
'to  start."  Then  Old  John  looked  at  the  sun  and  said,  "I'm 
*a  taking  it  to  be  about  five  o'clock  in  the  arter  noon,  sir.  I 
'suppose  you  would  not  start  until  the  next  mornin'.  ?" 

"We  wi'.l  start  as  soon  as  ever  you  folks  are  ready,"  re- 
plied the  Sieur.  "We  will  of  course  take  our  commands 
'from  Her  Majesty — the  Queen-Elect.  We  can  start  just  as 
'well  at  midnight  on  the  darkest  night  possible  as  at  mid- 
*day — that  is  if  we  were  once  inside  the  Subterranean  Chan- 
*nel.  And  that  reminds  me,  Laird,  it  would  be  well  to  have 
'as  much  'light  on  the  subject' — as  the  saying  is — as  pos- 


The  Journey  to  the   Throne, 


209 


llhur- 
two 
)ear  a 
\e  you 
ready 
"I'm 
iir.    I 

» 


sible.  I  mean  as  much  light  on  the  'scows'  of  course.  So 
it  would  be  as  well  for  you  folks  to  'scare  up' — as  they  say 
— as  many  lanterns  as  you  can  and  we  can  divide  them  up 
between  the  two  'scows.'  We  can  rig  up  little  'jury  masts/ 
as  it  were — spare  masts— on  which  to  put  them.  And 
then  we'H  have  lots  of  light  and  everything  will  be  'hunky 

'dory' — ^as  the  saying  it ;  won't  it,  Machelle  ?" 

"Of  course,"  that  gentleman  replied,  looking  at  Miss 
Retta. 

"You  don't  say  so  I"  playfully  said  that  lady. 

"I  think,"  continued  the  Sieur,  "we  will  divide  our  Pas- 
"sengaires  between  the  two  'Hookers' — I  mean  'wood 
"  'scows.'  M.  Machelle  will  take  command  of  one  schooner 
" — and  I  can  'tread  the  quarter-deck'  of  the  other--so  to 
"speak." 

"That's  capital,"  said  the  Laird.  ' 

"What  are  the  names  of  the  schooners?"  asked  M.  Ma- 
chelle— addressing  Old  John. 

"They  haven't  got  any  names — sur.  Leastwise  not  as  I 
"ever  heard  tell  of,"  replied  Old  John. 

"Well,  we  will  call  one  'The  Elfie'  and  the  other  The 
"  'Retta,'  if  it's  agreeable  to  the  company,"  said  the  gallant 
Sessional  Writer. 

"It's  a  pitty  we  haven't  any  Flags — but  it  can't  be  helped," 
said  the  Sieur. 

Then  as  the  party  prepared  to  walk  back  again,  M.  Ma- 
chelle said :  "There's  one  little  item  of  freight  you  forgot, 
"Commodore." 

"What  is  that,  Capitaine  ?"  asked  the  Sieur. 

"A  small  *jag* — so  to  speak — of  Pansy  Roots — from  those 
"lovely  flower-beds  at  the  Williamson  Farm.  You  need  not 
"think,  Mrs.  Williamson,  we  would  return  without  a  good 
"supply  of  those  Pansy  Roots,"  said  the  gallant  Sessional 
Writer. 

"You  can  add  them  to  the  'Manifest'  or  'Bill  of  Lading,* 
"Capitaine,"  said  the  Sieur  solemnly. 

And  then  they  all  laughed — all  but  the  Gude  Wife — whose 
eyes  moistened  as  she  said  feelingly :  "Thank  you,  ever  so 


14 


210 


The  Journey   to   the   Throne. 


"much,  gentlemen  both.  It  would  be  real  lonesome  without 
"those  flowers." 

"Oh,  I'm  so  glad  you  thought  of  the  Pansies,"  said  the 
Queen-Elect — casting  a  grateful  look  on  the  Sessional 
Writer. 

"You're  real  thoughtful — even  if  you  are  an  Envoy  and 
"all  those  other  dreadful  things,"  said  the  mischievous  Retta. 

"Thankee,  kindly,  gentlemen,"  said  Mr.  Williamson — 
"fur  all  your  kindness." 

"So  says  I,"  said  Old  John. 

"And  I,  gentlemen,"  said  the  Laird. 

Then  the  Sieur  said  solemn-like:  "Please  don't  over- 
"whelm  us  with  your  thanks — or  we  won't  be  in  a  fit  condi- 
"tion  to  tread  the  quarter  decks  of  the  stately  schooners, 
"  'The  Elfie'  and  The  Retta,'  to-morrow  evening— eh,  Capi- 
"taine  Machelle?" 

"Aye!  Aye,  sir,"  replied  the  Capitaine — "that's  just  how 
"I  feel." 

Then  Old  John  said :  "It  is  bright  moonlight  these  even- 
"ings.  We  can  all  work  hard  getting  ready  the  necessary 
"lumber  which  will  be  required — and  getting  things  into  as 
"good  a  shape  as  possible.  Mr.  Williamson  will  kindly  lend 
"us  Moll  and  Dobbin  and  they  can  haul  the  lumber  to  the 
"shore." 

"That's  alright,"  said  the  Sieur — ^"have  you  lumber  con- 
"venient?"  i 

"Oh,  we  can  easily  get — between  our  place  and  Mr.  Wil- 
"liamson's — the  few  boards  and  nails  which  will  be  neces- 
"sary,"  answered  Old  John. 

"I  guess  we  can  also  have  time  to  'water*  the  scows — ^put 
"them  in  the  water,"  said  the  Laird. 

"Why,  it  is  real  early  yet,"  said  M.  Machelle,  "and  if  it  is 
"a  bright  moonlight  night — ^and  Old  John  says  it  is  going 
"to  be,  I  understand — we  could  not  only  'water'  the  'Hook- 
"  'ers' — I  mean  the  wood  scows,  but  also  do  the  necessary 
"fitting-out  work — or  some  of  it,  anyway." 

"Supposin'  you  folks  all  come  and  take  supper  at  our 
"place,"  suggested  the  Gude  Wife — ^"it  is  nearer  the  shore 


The  Journey  to   the   Throne,  an 


con- 

Wil- 
iec€s- 


our 
shore 


"than  yourn,  my  dears"  (thjs  to  "the  Bonnie  Leddies") ; 
"then  arter  supper  the  work  can  be  proceeding." 

"Thank  you,"  said  the  Laird,  "we  will  accept  your  kind 
"hospitality — if  there  won't  be  too  many  of  us." 

So  the  gay  party  proceeded  to  Mrs.  Williamson's.  The 
scows  were  lying  on  the  shore  a  little  further  up  past  the 
place  where  the  Envoys  had  left  their  Canoe  on  their  arrival 
— and  so  on  their  way  to  the  farm  house  the  party  soon 
came  on  the  "cow  path,"  which  the  Envoys  had  followed  on 
the  evening  of  their  arrival. 

"Why,  here's  our  old  friend,  'the  Trail !' "  exclaimed  M. 
Machelle.  "It  seems  to  me  like  an  old  friend  I  had  known 
"for  years — ^but  we  have  not  traveled  it  many  times." 

"Four  times,  that  is  all — as  near  as  I  can  remember,"  said 
the  Sieur.  "It  certainly  does  seem  as  if  I  had  known  it  a 
"long  time — but  after  all  it  was  only  just  about  two  days 
"ago  about  this  time — or  even  a  little  later.  Let's  see,  it 
"was  after  supper  that  evening." 

"Why,  come  to  think  of  it,"  said  Machelle,  "so  it  was — it 
"was  only  the  day  before  yesterday — in  fact,  two  afternoons 
"ago,  that  we  arrived  in  this  country — this  great  North 
"Land ;  we  went  to  'the  Sue'  yesterday — and  we  reached  here 
"the  afternoon  before." 

"That's  so,"  said  the  Sieur,  "it  does  seem  longer  than  that, 
"however.  These  are  indeed  eventful  days  in  which  we  are 
"living,  old  man,  and  we  are  crowding  a  great  deal  of  im- 
"portant  business  into  them." 

"That's  a  fact,"  replied  M.  Machelle,  who  was  walking 
along  the  trail  by  the  side  of  the  winsome  Retta — "but  they 
"have  been  real  happy  days — even  if  they  have  been  so  event- 
"ful." 

"Do  you  feel  happy  now,  M.  Machelle?"  asked  the  Sieur 
pleasantly. 

"Yes,  real  happy,"  replied  the  Sessional  Writer;  "never 
"more  so."  Then  addressing  his  faire  or  rather  his  brunette 
companion,  he  asked:  "What  again  do  you  call  this  fair 
"Country  ?  I  either  never  have  heard  or  else  it  has  'slipped 
"  'my  memory' — as  the  saying  it." 


•m- 


^■:"B5%P^ 


w««-.li;j:^i 


■  wf  ^'®r«  W^, 


312  The  Journey  to   the  Throne. 

"New  Ontario/'  replied  his  winsome  coini>anion  with  a 
gay  laugh.    "Do  you  think  you  can  remember  the  words?" 

'"New  Ontario!'  why  that  is  a  real  pretty  name— quite 
"picturesque — isn't  it,  Sieur?" 

"Quite  romantic,"  answered  that  gentleman.  "I  don't  re- 
"member  hearing  the  words  before.  But  we  may  have  heard 
"them  yesterday.  We  heard  a  great  deal  about  one  thing 
"and  another  yesterday." 

"That's  so,"  said  M.  Machelle. 

By  this  time  they  had  reached  the  hospitable  Farm  House. 

After  supper  the  "men  folks"  went  to  look  up  some  boards 
— whilst  the  ladies  finished  their  household  duties. 

In  a  couple  of  hours  the  waggon — loaded  with  boards — 
started  on  its  journey  to  the  beach — and  the  merry  party 
walked  along  after  it — all  but  Mr.  Williamson,  who  sat  up 
on  the  high  seat  to  drive  the  team. 

"I'm  so  glad  you're  taking  'Moll'  and  'Dobbin,* "  said 
Retta  to  M.  Machelle  as  she  walked  demurely  by  his  side. 

"So  am  I,"  said  that  gentleman.  "The  fact  is,  I  really 
"have  got  to  like  Moll  and  Dobbin  very  much ;  in  fact,  I  have 
"got  to  like  everything  round  these  parts  very  much — all 
"except  Old  Man  Covet  Grab — ^he  is  always  excepted — I 
"don't  think  I  would  like  him  particularly  from  what  I've 
"heard  of  him." 

"And  it  was  so  kind  of  you,  M.  Machelle,  to  think  about 
"those  Pansy  Beds,"  said  the  Gude  Wife,  who  was  walking 
near  them  and  who  had  overheard  what  was  said. 

"Not  a  word  more,  please,  ma'am,  on  that  subject,"  said 
the  Sieur,  who  also  had  overheard  the  conversation,  "or  I 
really  will  have  to  leave  them  out  of  the  'Manifest.'  What 
"you  should  do,  I  fancy — we'll  all  help  you  if  necessary  of 
"course — is  to  get  some  wet  moss — or  dry  moss — and  mois- 
"ten  it — and  put  it  in  a  box  and  then  put  your  Pansy  Roots 
"on  top  of  the  moss ;  or  if  we  cannot  get  some  moss — why 
"some  leaves  or  earth  would  do.  You  know,  ma'am," 
added  the  Sieur  with  a  gay  laugh,  "we  want  to  take  these 
"pretty  Pansies  back  to  our  own  Country  in  as  good  a 
"condition  as  possible,  so  that  when  you  set  them  out 
"again  in  the  new  beds  we  will  help  you  to  make  in  your 


The  Journey  to  the   Throne. 


313 


»> 


"new  home  in  the  Land  of  the  Grimalkins-^-why  you  will 
"hardly  know  you've  changed  your  place  of  residence  at 
"all— will  she,  Machelle?" 

"Well  make  her  feel  as  much  at  home — as  possible," 
repliied  the  Sessional  Writer,  with  a  laugh. 

"Thank  you,  gentlemen,  kindly,"  said  the  Gude  Wife;  "if 
"I  have  my  two  cows — and  my  pansies — and  if  my  Guude- 
"man  has  Moll  and  Dobbin — why  of  course,  we'll  be  right 
"at  home;  that  is,  of  course,  if  I  can  often  see  'the  Bonnie 
"  'Leddies'  and  Old  John  and  the  kind  Laird." 

"Why,  you'll  all  live  very  much  the  same  as  you  do  now, 
"I  fancy,"  said  the  Sieur — only  there  won't  be  any  Mr. 
"Covet  Grab  to  fret  about  or  to  be  afraid  of." 

For  some  hours  the  scene  on  the  shore  was  a  busy  and 
animated  one.  Everyone  worked  with  a  will;  the  Ladies 
were  not  allowed  to  do  any  hard  work — but  they  insisted  on 
doing  all  they  could.  And,  as  the  Sieur  gallantly  said,  their 
very  presence  was  a  help— his  exact  words  being:  "You 
"ladies  by  your  very  presence  have  made  our  labours  easy 
"and)  lightened  our  toil  to  such  an  extent  that  the  whole 
"business  has  been  made  fun — eh,  Machelle?" 

That  gentleman  replied,  looking  at  the  winsome  Retta: 
"I  never  had  so  much  fun — real  down-right  fun — in  my  life 
"as  I  am  having  these  days;  except,  perhaps,  that  time  on 
"Bay  street  when  we  had  the  fun  with  the  children ;  the  time 
"when  His  Majesty  was  'Santa  Claus's  Partner,'  you  know." 

"'Santa  Claus's  Partner!'"  repeated  the  Queen-Elect. 
"Please  tell  us  at  once  all  about  it,  M.  Machelle.  Of  course 
"we  shall  have  to  stop  work  in  the  meantime — but  it  is  not 
"every  day  we  get  the  opportunity  to  hear  a  Fairv  Tale — ^is 
"it,  Retta?" 

"No"  said  that  young  lady  demurely  and  looking  at  M. 
Machelle. 

"It  is  not  a  Fairy  Tale,  my  Liege — Ladies  and  Gentle- 
"mien;  it  is  an  actual  reality" — and  then  the  story  teller  com- 
menced to  tell  his  story,  but  all  the  time  looking  at  Miss 
Retta  and  seeming  to  be  telling  the  story  to  her  more  than 
to  any  one  else. 


■■'    i| 


214    The  Journey   to   the   Throne. 

Wihen  the  story  was  finished'  Miss  Retta  said:  "What  a 
"dear  old  man  His  Majesty  must  be — I  do  long  to  see  him." 

"Old  man?"  replied  M.  Machelle.  "You  must  not  call 
"the  King  old — he  is  not  old." 

"Is  he  married?"  asked  the  Gude  Wife. 

"No,"  answered  M.  Machelle,  "not  when  we  saw  him  last 
" — at  all  events." 

"That's  rather  strange,"  said  the  Gude  Wife,  isn't  it?  Is 
"His  Majesty  good-looking?" 

"He  is  a  handsome  man — ^and  better  than  that  he  is  one 
"of  the  best  men  I  ever  knew — ^large-hearted,  broad-minded 
"-«h,  Machelle?" 

"True,  Sieur.  And,  you  know,  my  Liege  and  Ladies  and 
"Gentlemen,  there  is  a  good  old  saying,  'handsome  is  that 
"handsome  does,' "  replied  M.  Machelle. 

"I  wonder  why  he'  never  married,"  resumed  the  Gude 
Wife  reflectively. 

"Madame,"  said  the  Sieur  kind  of  solemnly,  "as  some  one 
"has  said,  There  are  chords  in  the  human  heart.'"* 

"Oh,  my!"  said  the  Gude  Wife,  sympathizingly,  "how 
"dreadful.     How  bad  he  must  feel." 

"Oh,"  said  the  Sieur,  gayly,  "even  if  his  heart  is  affected 
"he  carries  himself  nobly  and  bravely  andi  does  not  com- 
"plain." 

"I  presume,"  said  Retta,  "you  mean  he  has  been  'crossed 
"in  love'  at  some  time  or  other,  just  like  one  reads  about  in 
"novels — isn't  that  romantic!" 

"I  did  not  say  so,"  said  the  Sieur.  "I  simply  remarked 
"that  some  one  had  said,  'there  are  chords  in  the  human 
"heart.'" 

"Heart  disease  is  a  wery  bad  thing"  said  Old  John.  "I 
"knew  an  old  man  once  died  from  that  complaint." 

"You  don't  say  so — how  dreadful!  How  old  was  he?" 
asked  Miss  Retta. 

"They  said  he  was  over  ninety  years — I  am  not  sure  how 
"many  years  i>ast  ninety  he  was,"  replied  the  old  servant. 

•Vhe  'i^ranslator  ratlier  thinks  he  has  seen  the  words  In  double 
Italics  somewnore  or  other  outside  of  this  "Roman."  Did  not  Charles 
Dickens  put  then- -or  some  what  similar  'vords  In  the  mouth  of  one 
of  his  fiharactera? 


The  Journey   to   the   Throne. 


215 


**Oh,  that's  not  so  bad,  you  know,  after  all,"  said  Mr.  Wil- 
liamson. 

Then  the  Gude  Wife  said:  "I  wonder  if  the  poor  man — 
"I  mean  His  Majesty — likes  flowers;  I  wonder  if  he  would 
"mind  my  giving  him  some  of  those  Pansies  you  gentlemen 
"thought  so  pretty." 

"I  think — in  fact,  I  know — the  King  loves  flowers,"  re- 
"plied  the  Sieur,  "and  I  am  sure  he  will  be  glad  to  receive 
"some  Pansies  from  your  fair  hands,  Mrs.  Williamson.  I 
'•believe  His  Majesty's  favourite  flower,  however,  is  the 
"Violet." 

"I  have  some  violet  roots,  I  will  bring  with  me  too,"  said 
ihe  Gudewife,  "if  you'll  put  'em  in  your  'manifest,'  as  you 
"called  it.  They're  not  blooming  now — but  some  two  or 
"three  weeks  ago  in  the  early  spring  they  had  some  real 
"lovely  flowers.     Didn't  they  'Bonnie  Leddies?'" 

"Yes  indeed,"  murmured  the  ladies  addressed. 

"I  like  tirat  beautiful  idea  about  the  Children,  Sieur 
"D'Ulric,"  said  tlie  Queen-Elect  thoughtfully.  "If  ever  I 
"do  become  a  Queen — if  this  pretty  Fairy  Tale  becomes 
"true  and  a  reality — I  wish  to  db  all  I  can  for  the  Children 
"of  the  Land  of  which  I  may  be  Queen." 

"Thank  you  ever  so  much  for  so  saying,  my  Liege,  you 
"have  indeed  made  me  happy,"  said  the  'Sieur. 

"And  me,"  added  M.  Machelle.  "I  also  am  one  of  the 
"Children's  Raymates." 

"There  is  another  gentleman  who  loves  'the  Children' 
"very  much  and  whom  soon  you'll  meet,  I  hope,  my  Liege," 
said  the  Sieur.  "I  refer  to  Sage  Oscar.  M.  M'achelle  and 
"I  had  a  talk  with  him  on  the  subject.  We  happened  to 
"mention  the  fun  we  had  had  on  Bay  street  with  'Santa 
"Claus's  Partner,'  and  he  is  entirely  of  the  same  mind  on 
"the  subject  as  His  Majesty  and  M.  Machelle  and  myself." 
And  then  the  Sieur  and  'M.  Machelle,  between  them,  related 
to  the  Fairie  Queen-EJect  the  talk  they  had  had  with  the 
Sage  with  reference  to  his  taking  some  Children  as  Guests 
for  the  pretty  little  Cedar-Log  Cottage  duruing  the  summer 
time — and!  their  taking  some  Children  as  Guests  on  their 
own  Ranches  as  soon  as  they  could  arrange  the  matter. 


Iiipplil»iiipilf#fw^ 


^Ci 


rp«^' 


216 


The   Journey   to   the   Throne. 


-  -If; 
'is*  ■ 


1^         ;*i(J'- 


The  Queen-Elect  and  Miss  Retta  and  the  Gude  Wife — in 
fact,  everyone — listened  intently  to  the  narration. 

Then  the  Gude  Wife  said :  "Oh,  Pm  so  glad  you  gentle- 
"m€n  are  so  kind-hearted.    Our  lives  will  be  so  happy." 

"And  so  useful,"  added  Miss  Retta, 

Then  Old  John  spoke  up  and  said: 
"I'm  not  much  of  a  hand  to  talk  and  I  can't  express  myself 
"like  what  some  folkses  can;  but  if  there  is  anything  Old 
"John  can  do  in  the  way  of  making  /the  Children'  happy, 
"you  can  count  on  him.  I  may  be  said  to  have  helped  to 
"  'bring  up'  these  two  purty  gals — my  'Bonnie  Leddies.' " 

"And  you  can  count  on  me  also,  my  Liege — as  I  s'pose 
"I  must  call  you  now — and  Ladies  and  Gentlemen,"  said 
Mr.  Williamson. 

"And  I'm  generally  to  be  found  pretty  easily,"  said  the 
Laird,  with  a  gay  laugh. 

Then  Miss  Retta  said  demurely,  looking  at  M.  Machelle : 
"If  the  Queen-Elect  wishes  'this  pretty  Fairy  Tale' — as  she 
"called  it — to  'become  true  and  a  reality' — as  she  put  it — I 
"think  she  should  command  all  her  Liege  subjects  to  get  to 
"work  and  not  to  'gossip'  any  more.  Why,  we've  been 
"talking  here  'like  a  lot  of  old  women' — as  the  saying  is — 
'for — ever  so  long." 
,    Then  everyone  laughed  and  went  to  work  again. 

By  eleven  o'clock  that  night  there  floated  in  the  little  Bay 
where  the  old  Wood-Scows  had  been  resting  peacefully  for 
some  years,  two  strange-looking  craft — each  with  a  rakish 
fo'mast  and  main  mast,  and  each  neatly  railed-in.  The 
craft  were  not  "riding  at  anchor,"  but  each  vessel  was  se- 
curely fastened  by  a  long  rope  to  a  tree  on  the  shore. 

"Don't  they  look  real  pretty?"  said  the  Gude  Wife. 

*T  just  love  sailing — I'ni  so  glad  we  are  going  for  a  boat- 
"ride  in  them,"  said  the  vivacious  Retta — looking  at  M. 
Machelle. 

"So  am  I,"  said  that  gentleman. 

There  was  not  a  breath  of  wind  and  the  Craft  lazily  swung 
at  their  moorings  with  the  scarce  perceptible  motion  of  the 
water. 

"W^ell,  we'll  go  home  now  and  get  a  good  sleep  and  start 


The  Journey  to   the    Throne. 


217 


"to  work  as  early  as  w-e  can  in  the  morning  getting  the 
"freight  on  board,  Commodore,"  said  the  Laird. 

"Aye !  Aye !  Sir !"  replied  the  Sieur. 

The  Commodore  and  the  Master  of  "the  Retta"  had,  of 
course  to  accompany  the  Royal  party  back  to  Suummer- 
trees — and  bid  them  farewell  at  the  gate — so  the  Gude 
Wife  said  that  she  and  her  Goodman  would  also  go  along 
— that  it  was  not  a  great  deal  out  of  their  way. 

At  the  gate  the  merry  party  separated — the  two  Captaines 
accompanying  the  Gudeman  and  his  wife  home  and  sleeping 
in  the  same  room  which  they  had  occupied  the  night  before. 

As  the  Sieur  sunk  to  rest  he  heard  M.  Machelle  say 
sleepily,  "I  never  did  think  so  much  important  business 
"could  possibly  be  crowded  into  two  short  days." 

"Nor  I,"  answered  the  Sieur,  half-asleep. 

"Good  night.  Commodore,  and  'Vive  La  Reine,'"  said 
Machelle. 

"Good  night,  Capitaine,  and  'Vive  La  Reine'  it  is/'  re- 
plied the  Sieur. 

All  the  members  of  the  gay  party  were  up  betimes  in  the 
morning  and  soon  were  hard  at  work. 

It  was  decided  the  live  stock  should  not  be  put  on  board 
until  the  last  thing — and  the  forenoon  was  devoted  to  the 
moving  of  the  freight.  Moll  and  Dobbin  were  kept  busy 
all  day  hauling  heavy  loads  between  the  Williamson  Farm 
and  the  Shore  and  between  Summertrees  and  the  Shore. 

The  water  was  conveniently  deep  at  that  point,  so  the 
scows  could  be  brought  right  up  close  to  the  Shore  and  the 
team  used  to  draw  the  waggon  right  on  to  the  scows  and 
it  would  be  unloaded  there;  that  was  at  first  and  until  so 
much  freight  was  piled  on  the  scows  that  driving  on  to 
them  became  impossible — and  then  the  waggon  was 
unloaded  from  the  Shore. 

As  there  was  no  wind  out  on  the  Lake  and  it  was  certain 
there  would  be  none  in  the  Subterranean  Channel,  the 
Commodore  said  he  would  allow  the  "stevedores"  to  pile 
as  much  freight  on  the  decks  as  they  wished — provided  they 
secured  it  so  that  it  would  not  fall  down  and  hurt  anyone — 
or  fall  into  the  water — and  provided  sufficient  room  was 


^"ipipillfpilffiw^ 


2l8 


The  Journey   to   the   Throne, 


left  for  the  accommodation  of  the  Kve  stock,  which  had  to 
go  on  board  that  afternoon — ^and  provided  sufficient  accom- 
modation was  left  for  the  Passiengcrs.  And  you  never  in 
all  your  life  saw  ^o  much  freight  piled  on  two  wood^-scow- 
barges  as  was  piled  that  day  on  "the  Elfie"  nnd  "the  Retta." 

By  three  o'clock  everything  was  on  board  but  the  live 
stock,  and  Old  John  was  preparing  to  drive  down  to  the 
Shore  from  Summertrees  the  sheep  and  the  Jersey  Cow  and 
the  Gudeman  was  preparing  to  drive  down  to  the  Shore 
from  the  Williamson  farm  the  two  "cow-bossies"  and  Moll 
and  Dobbin  were  in  fact  already  on  board  "the  Elfie." 

"Don't  hurry  the  sheep  or  the  cattle,  boys"  the  Commo- 
dore had  said.  "There  is  lots  of  time — even  if  we  are  a 
little  late  in  starting  there  will  be  no  'demurrage'  to  pay." 

Then  the  Sieur  and  the  Sessional  Writer  took  a  little  walk 
to  the  house  of  the  neighbour — the  next  house  on  "the  Sue 
"Road"  from  Summertrees.  They  carried  with  them  the 
"Pedlar's  Pack"  they  had  borrowed  from  Mr.  Jackson  at 
"the  Corners,"  and  giving  the  Pack  to  the  kind  neighbours 
they  asked  them  "would  you  mind — next  time  your  waggon 
"is  going  to  'the  Sue' — handing  this  valise  to  Mr.  Jackson — 
"the  General  Merchant  ?  He  kindly  lent  it  to  us  two  or  three 
"days  ago."  And  on  being  told  by  the  kind  people  that  they 
would  be  glad  to  return  the  valise  the  very  next  Saturday, 
as  they  were  going  in  themselves  on  that  day,  the  Envoys 
said,  "Thanks — ever  so  much" — and  returned  to  Summer- 
trees. 

When  Old  Man  Jackson  opened  the  valise  on  Saturday 
afternoon  he  found  inside  a  small  piece  of  paper,  bearing 
these  strange  words : 

"Thanks  ever  so  much 

"for  the  use  of  this 

"  'Pedlar's  Pack.' 

(Signed)  (Sigpied) 

"D'Ulric  Sieur,  Machelle, 

"Ministers  Plenipotentiary  and  Am- 
"bassadors  Extraordinary  from  The 
"Land  of  the  Grimalkins." 


The  Journey   to   the    Throne. 


219 


Old  Brer  Jackson  was  alone  in  the  sto'  at  the  time  the 
valise  was  returned.  His  faire  wife  was  busy  in  the  house 
behind  the  sto'  baking  a  pie  for  dinner — a  deep-apple-pie — 
one  of  those  pies  Old  Brer  Jackson  particularly  liked. 

So  he  wei.t  back  into  the  house  and  said,  "Susan !  Susan 
"Mary,  my  Dear !  Just  see  the  funny  words  them  two  Fur- 
"riners  have  writ  in  the  walise  we  lent  'em  t'other  day !" 

The  fair  Mrs.  Jackson  had  her  fair  arms  in  the  baking  tin 
up  to  her  elbows — and  the  dimples  in  her  fair  arms  looked 
prettily  through  the  flour — and  in  fact  altogether  she  made  a 
charming  picture ;  as  people  used  to  say,  "Sis  Jackson  alway.«i 
"does  look  well." 

After  her  husband  had  read  the  paper  to  her  slowly  three 
times  the  lady  remarked  oracularly:  "Wa'al,  that  ere  paper 
"shows  three  things  any  way: 

"First :  that  them  gentlemen  were  Furriners;  it  says  'from 
"  **he  land  of  the  Grimalkins.' 

"Second:  it  shows  that  them  gentlemen  were  distin- 
guished Furriners — having  all  them  'ere  titles  and  names 
which  you  read  over. 

"In  fact,  they're  probably  some  kind  of  noblemen. 

"Thirdly:  it  shows  they  were  thankful — grateful;  it  says 
"  'thanks  ever  so  much.' " 

Then  Brer  Jackson  thanked  her  for  the  interpretation — 
kissed  her — and  returned  to  the  sto' ;  and  she  returned  to 
the  making  of  that  deep-apple-pie. 

It  is  needless  to  say  that  for  many  years  that  mysterious 
note  was  safely  preserved  as  a  precious  relic  and  keepsake 
among  the  Archives  of  the  Jackson  Family  at  "The  Sue." 

To  get  back  to  the  Envoys ;  when  they  reached  the  Sum- 
mertrees  gate  on  their  return  from  the  kind  neighbours,  at 
whose  house  they  had  left  the  "Pedlar's  Pack"  they  found 
the  two  "Bonnie  Leddies"  just  coming  out  accompanied  by 
the  Laird.  They  all  looked  as  if  they  had  been  crying  a  lit- 
tle, so  neither  of  the  Envoys  said  anything  to  them  for  a 
few  minutes — for  fear  of  making  them  feel  even  more  sad. 
The  Sieur  and  Machelle  of  course  easily  understood  the 
natural  grief  there  would  be  on  the  part  of  the  members  of 
the  Summertrees  family  in  saying  good-bye  for  ever  to  the 


220 


The  Journey   to   the   Throne. 


^'-  ^    *^ 


old  Homestead,  where  they  had  lived  so  long — the  only 
Home  they  had  ever  known. 

The  two  girls  walked  one  on  each  side  of  the  Laird  and 
holding  his  arm — and  the  two  Envoys  at  first  walked  silently 
behind.  Then  in  a  few  minutes  the  Queen-Elect  said: 
"Why  should  we  mind  leaving  the  old  Homestead,  Papa, 
"when  we  are  leaving  it  under  such  happy  circumstances? 
"If  these  'Princes  in  Disguise' — as  Mrs.  Williamson  calls 
"them — ^had  not  come  we  would  have  had  to  leave  in  any 
"event.    We  should  be  so  happy — and  not  down-hearted." 

"That's  so,"  said  Miss  Retta ;  "the  idea  of  any  girl  fretting 
"when  she  is  on  her  way  to  a  Throne  and  a  Crown  and  a 
"conspicuous  place  on  Postage  Stamps  and  on — ?" 

"On  Yens,  Miss  Retta,"  replied  M.  Machelle,  stepping  up 
to  her  side  and  walking  beside  her. 

Then  of  course  the  gallant  Sieur  stepped  up  by  the  side  of 
the  faire  Queen-Elect-  -who  said,  with  a  gay  laugh : 

"And  the  idea  of  a  girl  fretting  when  she  is  on  her  way 
"to  be  a  Lady's  Maid  to  a  Queen  and  a  Lady-in- Waiting  to 
"a  Queen!    Why,  the  very  ideal" 

And  by  the  time  they  reached  the  shore  the  whole  party 
were  "the  gayest  of  the  gay,"  as  the  saying  is. 

They  found  every  one  on  board — and  the  live  stock  was 
also  safely  stowed  away.  In  fact  everything  was  in  readi- 
ness for  the  start. 

The  Commodore  looked  at  his  watch  and  said :  "It  is  now 
"a  quarter  to  five  as  I  make  it.  If  you  will  excuse  us  the 
"Capitaine  and  I  will  step  down  the  shore  and  bring  up  our 
"Canoe — or  rather  sage  Oscar's  Canoe ;  we'll  have  it  here  in 
"ten  minutes.  And  at  five  precisely  we  can  be  ready  to 
"weigh  anchor  and  depart." 

At  this  juncture  a  very  pretty  little  incident  occurred  and 
one  well  worth  narrating  in  this  Romance. 

The  Queen-Elect  and  Miss  Retta  had  each  been  carrying 
in  their  arms  on  their  way  down  from  Summertrees  a  little 
parcel.  They  would  not  let  anyone  else  carry  them  and  said 
they  were  very  light. 

Well,  at  this  juncture  the  Queen-Elect  said: 

"If  you  will  allow  me,  Commodore,  I  wish  in  the  name  of 


The  Journey  to   the   Throne . 


221 


"all  present  to  make  a  little  gift — a  little  present — to  your 
"good  ship  'The  Elfie' — ^your  Flagship — the  Flagship  of  the 
"Flotilla — as  it  were." 

And  the  faire  girl-Queen  undid  the  parcel  she  held  in  her 
hand  and  it  was  seen  to  contain  a  pretty  Flag  of  white  cot- 
ton, which,  as  it  was  unfolded,  was  seen  to  bear  the  words 
prettily  worked  in  blue  and  crimson  wool — *'The  Elfie." 

And  then  Miss  Retta — ^addressing  the  Capitaine  of  "The 
"Retta,"  said  demurely: 

"Capitaine — your  ship  may  not  be  'the  Flagship  of  the 
"  'Flotilla,'  but  it  is  a  noble  ship  'for  a'  that— an'  a'  that'*— 
"as  the  Song  goes — and  you  may  well  be  proud  to  tread  its 
"Quarter  Deck — if  it  has  one.  Kindly  place  at  its  masthead 
"this  Flag — ^and  proudly  may  it  flutter  in  the  Breeze." 

And  here  the  winsome  girl  undid  her  parcel,  which  was 
found  to  contain  an  equally-pretty  Flag  bearing  on  a  white 
ground  in  letters  of  blue  and  crimson  the  words — "The 
"Retta." 

Everyone  of  course  cheered  the  faire  speakers — or  rather, 
the  faire  speaker  and  the  brunette  speaker. 

The  Commodore  and  Capitaine  of  course  made  suitable 
replies  and  were  naturally  very  proud  of  their  ships*  Flags. 

"I  presume  you  'Bonnie  Leddies' — as  Old  John  calls  you — 
"sat  up  pretty  late  last  night  or  rather  early  this  morning 
"making  these  pretty  Flags,"  said  M.  Machelle. 

"I  guess  so,"  said  the  Sieur. 

The  Flags  were  then  hoisted  on  their  respective  ships,  ac- 
companied by  merry  cheers.  Then  the  gallant  Commodore 
added :  "Now,  the  Capitaine  of  'The  Retta'  and  myself  will 
"go  and  get  our  Birch  Bark  Canoe,  or  rather  Sage  Oscar's — 
"and  whilst  we  are  gone — we'll  be  back  I  expect  inside  of 
"ten  minutes  or  so— I  will  ask  Old  John  and  Mr.  Williamson 
"—who  are  First  Matfes  of  'The  Elfie'  and  'The  Retta,'  re- 
"spectively — to  light  the  Lanterns." 

"Why  it  is  only  about  five  o'clock  and  it  won't  be  dark  for 
"hours,"  said  the  Queen-Elect — "iti  fact  if  it  is  a  bright 
"moonlight  night  like  last  night  was  it  won't  be  dark  all 
"night — except  for  perhaps  an  hour  or  two  before  dawn." 

*Robert  Bums. 


.lEjKr.i" 


wmm^ 


322 


The  Journey   to   the   Throne 


"You're  forgetting  the  Tunnell,  my  Liege!"  said  Retta 
with  a  laugh. . 

"Why,  of  course  I  was,"  said  Elfie. 

"You  see,  my  Liege,"  the  Commodore  added,  "we  will  be 
"at  the  mouth  of  the  Subterranean  Channel  within  ten  min- 
"utes  after  we  leave  here,  and  so  we  had  better  have  our 
"lanterns  lit  before  we  start — probably." 

"Aye — Aye — sir,"  said  the  two  Mates,  as  they  proceeded 
to  take  the  Lanterns  down  and  light  them,  to  the  great  ad- 
miration of  "the  Bonnie  Leddies." 

There  were  two  Lanterns  to  each  schooner,  one  on  the 
Fo'  Mast  and  the  other  on  the  Main  Mast. 

Inside  of  ten  minutes  the  Commodore  and  the  Capitaine 
had  returned  with  the  Sage's  pretty  little  Canoe. 

The  sailing  arrangements  had  been  made  as  follows: 
The  Canoe  was  to  go  ahead — leading  the  "procession" — a 
rope  was  to  be  attached  to  the  Canoe — ^the  other  end  to  be 
fastened  round  the  fo-mast  of  the  "Flagship' — ^another  rope 
was  to  connect  that  ship  with  "The  Retta." 

The  Laird — who  had  had  a  good  deal  of  practice  in  pad- 
dling— was  to  take  charge  of  the  Canoe.  Once  in  the  Sub- 
terranean Channel  they  would  have  a  gentle  current  with 
them — ^all  the  people  on  the  Barges  would  have  to  do  would 
be  to  steer  their  respective  crafts.  Until  they  reached  the 
Inlet  the  Barges  were  to  be  poled  along — they  were  to  be 
kept  inshore  where  the  water  was  not  too  deep  for  ix)ling. 
Once  inside  the  Subterranean  Channel  tlie  poles  would  be 
laid  to  one  side  and  long  handled  oars  were  to  be  used  for 
steering.  The  Capitaine  of  each  craft  was  to  stand  at  its  bow 
and  the  first  mate  at  its  stern.  The  Ladies  were  all  to  travel 
on  the  Royal  Vessel — the  Flagship — and  of  course  their 
faithful  attendant,  Old  John,  was  to  be  first  mate  on  that 
craft.  M,  Machelle  and  Mr.  Williamson  were  respectively 
the  first  atid  second  officers  of  "The  Retta." 

So  the  Gentle  Reader  can  see  that  all  needed  arrange" 
ments  had  been  made. 

Before  I  forget  it,  perhaps  I  should  state  that  when  the 
Envoys  were  in  the  Summertrees  Homestead  they  had  no- 
ticed a  pretty  little  Cottage  Piano — in  fact  the  "Bonnie  Led- 


,  yr^.,. 


The  Journey  to   the    Throne. 


223 


"dies"  had  played  for  them  on  this  instrument  and  had  sung 
for  them  to  its  accompaniment  some  lovely  old-fashioned 
Ballads.  It  was  indeed  a  sweet-toned  instrument  and  of 
course  the  ''Bonnie  Leddies"  valued  it  highly  and  would 
have  been  sorry  to  have  left  it  behind.  The  Envoys  would 
have  insisted  on  putting  it  in  "the  Manifest"  even  if  it  had 
been  a  heavy  affair — but  fortunately  it  was  a  light  piece  of 
furniture — and  it  did  not  take  up  much  room.  So  in  spite 
of  the  remonstrance  of  the  "Bonnie  Leddies,"  who  said  it 
was  a  pity  to  put  their  friends  to  so  much  trouble,  the  Cot- 
tage Piano  was  added  to  the  Bill  of  Lading  of  the  good  ship 
"The  Elfie,"  bound  from  "the  Port  of  Summertrees  Land- 
"ing  in  the  Land  of  New  Ontario  to  the  Sage's  Landing  in 
"the  Land  of  the  Grimalkins."  That  was  the  way  the  genial 
Commodore  said  he  would  perhaps  have  to  describe  the  mat- 
ter in  the  "Clearance  Papers." 

So  now,  at  ten  minutes  past  five  of  the  clock,  in  the  after- 
noon, on  the  third  day  after  the  Joint  Envoys  had  landed 
in  "the  Wilds  of  New  Ontario,"  the  gallant  Commodore 
stepped  on  to  the  Quarter  Deck  of  The  Flagship  of  the  Flo- 
tilla, which  had  thus  rapidly  and  expeditiously  been  got  "yito 
"commission" — as  the  saying  is — and  gave  the  command, 
"Now,  Land,  if  you  please,  by  the  right!  Quick,  March! 
"I  mean,  Slow  Paddle!" — and  the  eventful  Journey  to  the 
Throne  began. 

The  Lantern  of  course  which  had  done  such  good  service 
on  the  upward  journey  was  again  susi>ended  to  the  little  fo'- 
mast  in  the  Canoe  and  was  shining  brightly  as  of  yore — ^hav- 
ing been  carefully  cleaned  and  replenished  with  oil. 

Inside  of  ten  minutes  the  heavily-laden  Barges  had  been 
carefully  poled  along  the  shore  to  the  Inlet  of  the  Subterra- 
nean Channel.  Fortunately  there  was  "not  a  breath  of 
"wind"— as  the  saying  is— out  on  "The  Big-Sea- Water,"* 
or  the  adventurous  sailors  might  not  have  had  such  an  easy 
time  in  the  navigation  of  their  heavily-laden  and  un wieldly 
craft.  As  the  Laird  said  afterwards:  "It  is  really  an  un- 
"usual  thing  to  see  Lake  Superior  so  calm  for  such  a  length 


•"Gitche— The  Blgr-Sea-Water;"   The    Sonjf   of   Hiawatha: 
liPngfellow. 


H.    W. 


Pi 


224 


The  Journey   to   the   Throne. 


"of  time.  It  was  like  *a  sea  of  glass' — all  the  time  we  were 
"  'watering'  the  craft  and  fitting  them  up — ^and  it  continued 
"that  way  until  we  were  safe  in  the  Inlet.  I  don't  know 
"what  we  would  have  done  if  there  had  been  any  'sea  on' — 
"as  the  saying  is ;  our  cargo  might  have  'shifted' — and  we 
"might  have  lost  some  of  it — or  been  knocked  about  on  the 
"rocks  and  had  a  bad  time  generally.  A  wood-scow-barge 
"without  a  rudder  is  a  bad  thing  I  would  think  on  Lake  Su- 
"perior  if  there  is  any  'sea  on.'  " 

And  the  Laird  should  have  known,  as  he  had  done  quite 
a  lot  of  boating  on  the  Lake  in  his  life  time. 

Owing  to  the  calmness  of  the  water  on  the  Big  Lake  there 
was  no  trouble  at  all  in  making  the  Inlet — and  almost  noise- 
lessly the  Flotilla  glided  into  the  mouth  of  the  Inlet  and  the 
Subterranean  Voyage  began. 

"Oh,  my!  Isn't  it  just  perfectly  delightful!"  whispered 
Retta  to  the  Queen-Elect  and  to  the  Gude  Wife,  who  stood 
with  her  near  the  .Quarter  Deck  where  the  Commodore  was 
just  then  busy  paddling  on  the  port  side  with  his  long-han- 
dled oar — in  order  to  get  the  unwieldly  craft  into  a  little 
better  position.  Once  the  two  big  crafts  were  got  into 
proper  shai>e  in  the  channel  there  was  little  required  in  the 
way  of  steering — the  current  was  very  slow  and  easy — and 
the  course  of  the  River  or  Channel  seemed  nearly  straight. 

"I'm  glad  there  are  no  'crooks'  or  bends  in  this  'Crick,' " 
remarked  the  Commodore  to  his  First  Mate — "if  there  had 
"been  you  and  I  would  have  had  to  'work  our  passage* — ^as 
"the  saying  is.    But  everything  is  just  lovely." 

Then  the  gallant  Commodore  turned  to  his  faire  Pas- 
sengaires  and  said: 

"How  are  you  enjoying  your  journey,  my  Liege  and  La- 
"dies?" 

"I  think  it  is  just  delightful — but  Oh,  my,  what  is  that — 
"oh,  what  is  it?"  and  here  the  faire  Queen-Elect  actually 
clung  to  the  Commodore  for  his  protection — and  so  did  the 
other  two  Ladies. 

What  was  the  matter  was  simply  this :  The  beautiful  Jer- 
sey cow,  which  was  also  a  Passengaire — "second-class" — 
on  the  good  ship  "Elfie,"  apparently  felt  that  it  was  time 


-as 
'as- 
La- 

it— 

blly 
the 

fer- 
»> 

time 


The  Journey  to   the   Throne,  225 

she  expressed  audibly  her  appreciation  of  the  kindness  of 
the  officers  of  the  good  ship  in  looking  so  carefully  after  her 
comfort.  The  fact  was  particular  attention  had  been  paid 
to  the  matter  of  the  accommodation  provided  for  the  live 
stock  during  their  journey.  Straw  had  been  supplied  in 
abundance  for  bedding — and  there  was  an  abundant  supply 
of  newly  cut  grass  and  clover,  and  also  some  of  last  season's 
hay  in  the  way  of  fodder.  Then  also  it  may  have  been  that 
this  identical  Jersey  cow  was  of  a  Poetic  and  romantic  tem- 
perament; perhaps  she  was  very  much  impressed  with  the 
picturesque  and  weird  appearance  of  the  Subterranean  Chan- 
nel and  wished  audibly  to  express  her  ideas  on  the  subject. 
Anyway,  the  Jersey  lady  threw  up  her  head  in  the  air  and 
called  out: 

"Mooh!— Mooh!   Mooh!" 

And  of  course  the  Echoes  in  the  vast  Subterranean  Chan- 
nel took  up  the  unwonted  cry  and  kept  repeating  it  for  ever 
so  long — "Mooh !  Mooh !  Mooh !"  kept  coming  back  appar- 
ently from  all  points  of  the  compass.  You  never  in  your  life 
saw  such  a  surprised  lot  of  cows  as  were  that  Jersey  cow — 
a  second-cldss  Passengaire  on  "The  Elfie"  and  the  two  Wil- 
liamson-milch-cows, also  second-class  Passengaires  on  the 
same  good  ship.  They  stared  all  around  them  in  great  won- 
der and  amazement — then  they  would  gaze  up  in  wonder- 
ment at  the  roof  of  the  Cavern.  It  of  course  seemed  to  them 
that  they  were  surrounded  by  cows — cows  here — cows  there 
— cows  even  away  up  in  the  roof — cows  everywhere. 

As  soon  as  the  gallant  Commodore  had  explained  the  mat- 
ter to  the  fair  people  clinging  so  tightly  to  him  they  apolo- 
gized and  commenced  to  laugh  heartily.  The  Sieur  joined  in 
the  laughter  and  so  did  the  Laird,  and  Old  John  and  Mr. 
Williamson.  Old  John,  standing  in  his  place  in  the  stern, 
had  at  first  been  rather  alarmed,  but  directly  he  heard  the 
merry  laughter  of  the  folks  in  the  bow  he  had'  been  assured 
— and  then  he  commenced  to  understand  the  matter  and  so 
he  joined  heartily  in  the  laughter.  As  for  Mr.  Williamson, 
he  of  course  at  first  was  rather  "taken  aback" — ^as  he  after- 
wards said — ^by  the  unwonted  sound,  but  as  he  heard  his 
own  Capitaine  laughing  he  knew  everything  was  alright. 


.4: 


':! 


15 


■^^^? 


326 


The  Journey   to   the   Throne. 


The  Laird  was  surprised  at  first,  but  he  soon  knew  what 
the  cause  was — ^and  of  course  he  heartily  joined  in  the 
laughter. 

And  of  course  this  hearty  laughter  was  just  what  the 
playful  Echoes  wanted.  They  played  with  the  "Ha!  Hat 
Hal"  for  ever  so  long.  Miss  Retta  afterwards  said  to  M. 
Machelle  that  she  never  heard  so  much  laughing  in  her  life. 

As  for  the  cows,  they  never  "Moohed"  again  during  the 
time  they  were  in  that  Subterranean  Channel.  And  as  for 
the  sheep:  one  ewe — probably  very  much  impressed  by  the 
weird  and  picturesque  scenery,  ventured,  to  express  her 
opinion  in  a  rather  sonorous  "Baa!  Baa!  Baa!" — but  the 
sound  seemed  to  wake  up  so  many  unseen  sheep  all  over  the 
place — that  the  ewe  who  made  the  remark  aforesaid  and  the 
other  sheep  traveling  with  her,  became  really  bewil3ered, 
and  't  perhaps  took  them  the  remaining  hours  of  the  journey 
to  arrive  at  a  proper  solution  of  the  matter.  Perhaps  it  was 
because  they  were  busy  trying  to  figure  the  matter  out  that 
they  were  so  quiet ;  there  was  no  more  "baa-ing"  during  the 
voyage. 

At  about  ten  o'clock  that  night  the  gallant  Commodore 
called  to  the  Laird  to  stop  at  the  first  convenient  Landing 
Place  and  they  would  halt  for  the  night.  In  a  few  minutes 
the  canoe  stopped  at  a  very  suitable  place  for  the  purpose; 
a  spot  where  there  was  a  long  stretch  of  level  rock — ^most  of 
it  covered  with  a  thick,  soft  pretty  moss.  "Why,  this  was 
"one  of  our  camping  places,"  the  Commodore  called  out  to 
the  Master  of  "The  Retta." 

"Aye,  Aye,  sir;  so  it  is,"  that  gentleman  answered. 

The  Passengers  and  Officers — "all  hands  and  the  Cook" 
— as  the  saying  is^ — enjoyed  a  hearty  supper  in  picnic  fash- 
ion on  the  level  rock.  The  gentlemen  bringing  out  quilts 
and  blankets  on  which  the  ladies  could  recline — in  case  the 
moss  should  be  damp.  Then  the  ladies  made  comfortable 
beds  for  themselves  on  the  flat,  moss-covered  rock — and  the 
gentlemen  spread  their  blankets  in  a  cosy  corner  of  Ihe  good 
ship  "Elfie"  and  soon  were  also  fast  asleep. 

The  two  schooners  had  been  carefully  and  strongly  fas- 
tened to  the  shore — ropes  being  securely  attached  to  some 


The  Journey   to   the   Throne, 


227 


big  rocks  which  jutted  out  conveniently  for  the  purpose.  The 
Sage's  canoe  had  of  course  been  carefully  deposited  on  the 
flat  rock. 

By  eight  o'clock  the  next  morning  the  Flotilla  was  under 
ivay  or  under  weigh — whichever  it  is — again. 

And  during  that  morning  the  gay  party  amused  them- 
selves by  singing  old-Ballads  to  the  accompaniment  of  the 
Cottage  Piano — played  by  the  "Bonnie  Leddies." 

As  the  Commodore  said,  "that  Piano  has  already  more 
"than  paid  its  freight-bill  in  the  enjoyment  it  has  giv<Hi  us." 

About  noon  a  couple  of  hours'  halt  was  made  iof  Ltmch* 
eon — and  then  again  the  Flotilla  proceeded. 

But  now  everything  was  quiet  on  the  vessels — and  the 
passengaires  and  officers  spoke  in  a  low  tone. 

Every  one  seemed  to  be  expectant  and  watchful. 

The  fact  was  that  the  Flotilla  must  now  be  rapidly  near- 
ing  "the  Sage's  Landing  Place" — as  the  officers  called  it — 
and  great  care  must  be  taken  not  to  miss  it.  The  only  way 
by  which  it  could  be  located  was  by  noticing:  the  cross-cavern 
which  intersected  at  that  point  the  vast  cavern  through 
which  the  Flotilla  had  now  been  sailing  for  so  many  hours. 
The  officers  described  to  the  Laird  and  to  the  Passengaires 
the  description  of  the  place  as  nearly  as  they  could  and 
everyone  was  keeping  a  sharp  lookout,  on  the  port  side.  It 
needed  a  sharp  lookout,  because  the  lanterns  did  not  throw 
their  light  very  far.  It  was  a  very  important  matter  indeed. 
It  would  never  do  to  pass  the  place. 

"I  wish  we  had  thought  to  have  erected  a  big  beacon- 
"mark  or  mound  of  stones  or  something  by  which  we  could 
"have  told  the  place  more  easily,"  said  the  Commodore  to  the 
Capitaine  of  "The  Retta"  during  their  halt  for  Luncheon. 

"Perhaps  it  would  have  been  better,"  that  gentleman  re- 
plied, "but  I  feel  sure  we  won't  miss  it.  I  remember  the 
"look  of  the  place  pretty  well.  We'll  all  keep  a  sharp  look- 
"out  on  the  Port  side,  but  I  rather  think  we  won't  make  the 
"place  until  about  four  or  five  this  afternoon." 

It  had  now  got  to  be  about  half-past  three  and  no  sign 
yet  of  the  Cross-Cavern.  Everyone  was  "on  the  tip  toe  of 
"expectation,"  as  the  saying  it ;  when  all  of  a  sudden  Miss 


228 


The  Journey  to  the  Throne, 


'ft 


Retta  said:  "Listen!  Don't  you  hear  that?  Why,  it's  some 
"little  children  singing — isn't  it?" 

Everyone  listened  eagerly.  In  a  second  or  two  the  Laird 
called  out  from  the  Canoe — ^he  also  had  heard  the  sound: 
"There's  some  little  children  singing  away  down  the  stream." 

The  sound  was  as  yet  too  faint  for  l>e  words  of  the  Song 
to  be  distinguished,  but  as  there  seemel  no  doubt  that  there 
were  children  singing  away  down  the  stream  the  Commo- 
dore gave  the  command :  "Boys !  Cheer  1" 

For  some  minutes  the  Echoes  which  repeated  the  cheer 
all  around  them  prevented  the  people  on  the  Flotilla  from 
hearing  the  reply  which  came  from  the  folks  away  down  the 
stream,  but  in  a  few  minutes  there  was  no  doubt  but  that 
some  people  down  the  shore  had  heard  their  cheer  and  were 
replying  to  it.  "Boys !  Cheer  again !"  said  the  gallant  Com- 
modore— ^and  again  the  Echoes  resounded  throughout  that 
vast  Subterranean  Channel.  This  time  the  reply  from  the 
folks  away  down  the  shore  was  even  now  more  distinct. 

"I  presume  there  is  no  doubt  but  they  will  be  able  to  make 
"out  our  lights  a  long  way  off,  as  we  have  five  of  them,  and 
"they  must  make  a  pretty  sight.  And  there  does  not  seem  to 
"be  any  bend  or  curve  in  the  River  for  miles,"  called  out  the 
Master  of  "The  Retta"  to  the  Commodore. 

"Our  lights  looked  real  pretty  from  the  shore,  anyway," 
replied  the  Commodore.  "1  noticed  myself  how  pretty  they 
"looked." 

Then  in  two  or  three  minutes  the  Laird  called  out :  "I 
"think  I  can  make  out  a  Light  away  down  on  the  Port  side, 


"sir." 


"I  guess  you're  right,  Laird,  but  I'm  not  quite  sure  yet," 
replied  the  Commodore. 

Then  he  called  out  to  the  Master  of  "The  Retta :" 

"Retta,  ahoy !  Can  you  make  out  anything  down  stream, 
"sir — ^away  down— on  the  Port  side?" 

"I  think  there's  a  light  there,  sir,"  answered  the  gallant 
Capitaine  of  "The  Retta." 

Then  the  faire  Queen-Elect  said :  "They're  singing  again 
" — ^and,  oh,  how  sweetly  those  children  are  singing ;  there's 
"a  Lady  singing  with  them,  too,  I  fancy.  And  now  and  then 


^^^^ 


,.■'/■•". 


"-'!» 


The  Journey  to   the   Throne. 


329 


"there's  a  deeper  voice  one  can  hear — ^a  man's  voice.    I  won- 
"der  who  they  are." 

Then  the  gallant  Commodore  called  out  again :  "  'Retta,' 
"ahoy !  Who's  singing  down  the  shore,  sir  ?" 

The  gallant  Capitaine  listened  intently  for  two  or  three 
minutes  and  then  answered :  "  'Elfie,'  ahoy !  I  guess  the 
"Sage  has  already  got  his  little  Children  Guests,  sir." 

"But  don't  you  hear  a  Lady's  voice,  sir?"  pursued  the 
Commodore.    "Who  is  the  Lady,  think  you,  Capitaine?" 

The  gallant  Master  of  "The  Retta"  listened  intently  a  lit- 
tle while  and  then  said :  "Commodore,  I  guess  the  Queen — 
*I  mean  the  Sage's  own  particular  Queen — of  course — must 
* — as  you  remember  I  suggested  might  one  day  happen — 
'have  come  a-tripping  up  the  mountain-side  and  a-saying, 
*  'where  is  that  pretty  little  cedar-log  cottage  which .  I  have 
'  'seen  in  my  dreams  ?'  " 

"I  guess  you're  right,  sir,"  called  back  the  gallant  Com- 
modore. 

"How  romantic — we're  getting  to  be  sure,  Captain  Ma- 
"chelle !"  said  the  winsome  Retta  strolling  aft  and  addressing 
the  gallant  Master  of  "The  Retta" — who  stood  at  the  bow  of 
that  vessel. 

"Won't  you  please  stay  and  talk  to  me  a  little  while,  young. 
"Lady?"  said  the  gallant  Mariner — in  reply — "'tis  awful 
"lonesome  here  all  alone  and  no  one  to  talk  to.  Mr..William- 
"son  is  on  board  of  course,  but  he  is  away  at  the  stern  and 
"I'm  real  lonesome  here  at  the  bow.  It  is  hardly  fair — when 
"one  comes  to  think  about  the  matter  seriously,  you  know — 
"for  the  gallant  Commodore — even  if  he  is  a  Commodore — 
"to  have  no  less  than  three  of  the  fair  sex  to  comfort  him 
"and  poor  me  have  none.  And  then  again,  I  am  taking  the 
"trouble  to  sail  your  own  ship,  you  know — and — " 

"My  'own  ship'?"  replied  the  winesome  Lassie. 

"Why,  yes — is  not  this  gallant  craft,  yclept  'The  Retta' — 
"and  a  real  'saucy  craft'  she  is,  too— as  the  saying  is." 

"Well,  I  never !"  said  the  winsome  Retta.  "I  really  would 
"stay  and  talk  with  you  a  little  while  even  if  I  am  'saucy' — 
"but  the  Queen  is  calling  me— don't  you  hear  her  ?" 


-^^fei»*^ 


fil'^ 


230 


The  Journey   to   the   Throne. 


There  was  no  doubt  about  the  matter.  "Retta!  Rettal 
"Please  come  here!  Why,  where  has  the  child  gone?" 

"The  child  is  here,  my  Liege,"  said  Retta.  "What  can  I 
"do  for  your  Majesty?  You  know  I  suppose  that  I  am  no 
"longer  your  Playmate  hv  .  jr  Lady's  Maid  and  Maid-in* 
"Waiting." 

"Don't  be  a  goose,  Retta!"  said  the  Queen-Elect.  "I 
"called  you  so  that  you  could  listen  to  the  beautiful  Song 
"those  Children  are  singing  and  tell  me  what  air  it  is." 

Retta  listened  for  a  little  while  and  then  said:  "Oh, 
"there's  no  doubt  I  think  about  the  air,  my  Liege;  your 
"Majesty  knows  it  well  and  has  often  played  it  and  also 
"sung  the  words." 

"I  thought  the  Air  was  very  familiar,  but  I  could  not  re- 
"call  the  name.    What  is  it,  dear?" 

"  'My  Bonnie  Lies  Over  the  Ocean,*  my  Liege,"  answered 
Retta. 

"But  those  don't  seem  to  be  the  words,"  said  the  Queen- 
Elect.  "Now,  listen  intently  for  a  few  minutes  and  you 
"will  hear  something  a  little  different.  Ah,  now  they  are 
"either  singing  louder  or  else  we  are  getting  a  good  deal 
"closer  to  them  than  when  they  sang  the  same  piece  a  few 
"minutes  ago.  They  seem  to  be  starting  it  over  again.  How 
"nicely  that  Lady's  voice  chimes  in  with  the  sweet  little 
"childish  voices — and  I  suppose  the  gentleman  who  is  sing-* 
"ing  is  the  Sage ;  'Sage  Oscar.*  Now  they  seem  to  be  start- 
"ing  again  from  the  first,  and  we  seem  to  be  getting  so  close 
"that  we  can  make  out  the  words  now  pretty  plainly  !'* 

"Why,  yes,  my  Liege,"  said  Retta,  "'tis  strange — the  Air 
"certainly  is  'My  Bonnie  Lies  Over  the  Ocean,*  but  the 
"words  seem  to  be : 


Chorus — 


My  Pussy  has  gone  from  her  basket, 
My  Pussy  has  gone  up  a  tree. 
Oh,  who  will  go  up  'mid  the  branches, 
And  bring  back  my  Pussy  to  me? 


'Bring  back!  Bring  back! 
'  'Oh,  bring  back  my  Pussy  to  me; 

'Bring  back!  Bring  back! 
'  'Oh,  bring  back  my  Pussy  to  me. 


■■■^r- 


The   Journey  to   the    Throne . 

"  The  dog  that  lives  <k)wn  by  the  meadow, 
"  'The  dog  with  the  very  loud  bark, 
"  'Has    frightened  away  my  Pussy, 
"  'And  made  her  run  into  the  Park. 
Chants — 

"  'Bring  back,  etc. 

"  'They  say  that  when  some  folks  are  frightened, 
"  'Their  hair'll   turn  perfectly  white, 
"  'And  if  Pussy  stays  up  there  all  morning, 
She  won't  have  a  black  hair  by  night. 


,  ii 


231 


Chorus- 


'Bring  back,  etc' 


"Isn't  that  just  lovely,  my  Liege?" 

'^•It  is,  indeed,  Retta.  But  see,  we  are  getting  pretty  close 
"to  'the  Sage's  Landing,'  as  the  gentlemen  called  it.  We 
"can  see  the  light  so  plain  now  and  I  fancy  I  can  even  make 
"out  some  of  the  forms  of  the  people  standing  there.  I  even 
"fancied  just  now  that  I  saw  some  children  in  white 
"dresses." 

"Why,  I  am  almost  sure  I  can,  my  Liege." 

Just  then  the  gallant  Commodore  came  up  to  the  two 
"Bonnie  Leddies,"  and  taking  off  his  cap  and  bowing  low, 
he  said,  in  a  voice  which  plainly  showed  his  emotion : 

"My  Liege,  we  are  now  nearly  Home.  Not  only  Home  for 
'us  Envoys,  but  Home  for  all  of  us.  Not  far  before  us  is 
'  'the  Sage's  Landing,'  as  we  have  called  it.  You  will  stand 
*on  the  shores  of  your  own  Kingdom — your  new  Kingdom 
* — the  fair  Land  of  the  Grimalkins.  My  fellow  Envoy  and 
'myself  have  enjoyed  our  journey,  but  right  glad  are  we  to 
'be  nearly  home  again  and  especially  are  we  glad  when  we 
'think  of  the  success  which  has  attended  our  humble  efforts 
* — and  that  we  are  bringing  to  this  fair  Land  such  a  Faire 
'Queen.  Madame,  My  Liege,  down  at  the  Landing  stand 
'to  meet  us  and  to  welcome  us — ^to  meet  you  and  to  give 
'you  a  Royal  welcome — some  dear  little  children  and  our 
'good  friend  Oscar  the  Sage — and  apparently  there  is  also 
'some  Lady  there — probably  his  own  particular  Queen — let 
'us  hope  so.  My  Liege,  I  have  made  a  longer  speech  than 
*I  intended.    But  I  desire  to  \velcome  you — oh,  so  heartily 


3^2 


The  Journey  to   the   Throne. 


'and  thankfully — ^to  the  Fair  Land  of  the  Grimalkins  and 
"to  the  hearts  and  homes  of  its  People — " 

The  Sieur  could  not  proceed  further. 

In  reply,  the  faire  Queen-Elect — with  a  sweet  smile — ^and 
with  signs  of  tears — but  happily  of  joy  not  of  sorrow — in 
her  eyes— went  to  the  little  Cottage  Piano,  and,  opening  it, 
began  to  play  the  opening  bars  of  that  dear  and  old — and 
old-fashioned — and  yet  always  new — Ballad,  "Home,  Sweet 
"Home" — ^and  Retta  began  to  sing  and  the  words  were  taken 
up  by  every  one  in  the  Flotilla,  as  well  as  the  merry  group 
on  the  shore,  and  thf  Echoes  took  them  up  and  they  re- 
sounded far  and  wide  and  high  and  low  all  over  that  vast 
Subterranean  Channel,  and  as  she  stopped  playing  and 
turned  from  the  Piano  to  look  at  the  merry  group  on  the 
shore — not  so  very  far  down  on  the  Port  side  now — the 
faire  Queen-Elect  caught  the  eye  of  the  Sieur  D'Ulric  as  he 
looked  towards  her — ^and  she  murmured  softly: 

"And  it's  a  happy  home-coming  indeed  for  us  all,  Com- 
"modore." 


And  thus  it  was  that — ^according  to  Ancient  Legends — 
in  ye  far  oflf  dayes — in  ye  Olden  dayes — in  ye  distant  dayes 
— came  the  good  Queen  Elfie  from  the  far  off  North  Land  to 
her  Throne  in  the  Land  of  the  Grimalkins. 

And  this  is  why,  the  Heralds  tell  us,  the  figure  of  a  Wood 
Scow  Barge  appears  in  the  left  hand  corner  of  the  Royal 
Arms,  in  the  Land  of  the  Grimalkins. 

And  thus  it  was,  the  old  men  tell  us,  the  Ancient  sculp- 
ture came  to  be  made  in  bas-relief,  years  and  years  ago,  and 
which  yet  may  be  seen,  although  crumbling  with  age,  in  the 
porch  or  entrance  to  the  Sieurs'  House  in  the  Parliament 
Buildings  at  Mieauburg;  the  sculpture  showing  two  Wood 
Scow  Barges  preceded  by  a  Birch  Bark  Canoe  and  a-coming 
through  a  dark  Subterranean  Channel  and  underneath  the 
sculptured  figures  one  can  still  faintly  make  out  the  words : 

"Elle  vient— Vive  La  Reine." 


:lr-^_*'-'~-,    ,•*.'■ 


THE  TRANSLATOR'S  EPILOGUE 


The  Gentle  Reader  cannot  help  but  have  observed  that 
there  are  certain  things  cor^-iccted  with  the  foregoing 
"Roman"  and  incidents  cont<tmed  therein  which  go  to  prove 
almost  indisputably,  as  it  were,  the  Wonderful  Story  related 
by  "Tim  the  Travelc, '  and  a  translation  of  which  appears 
in  Volume  3  of  ti.se  "Foolish  Tales."  ^ 

There  are  littie  incidents  and  circumstances  mentioned  in 
M.  Ringtai/'s  "Roman"  which  would  probably  be  looked 
upon  by  Foxes  or  Lawyers  as  pieces  of — "Real"  or  "Intrin- 
"sic  Evidence" — and  all  going  to  prove  most  indisputably — 
so  to  speak — the  veracity  of  Tim's  narration. 

For  instance,  it  is  likely  that  Le  Sieur  D'Ulric  and  his 
friend  Machelle  when  they  came  out  of  the  Subterranean 
Channel  deposited  their  birch-bark  canoe  in  the  very  same 
place  as  that  in  which,  years  and  years  afterwards  in  the 
reign  of  Qiieen  Mayrilla,  Captain  Conrad  stowed  away  iS 
frail  bark  to  await  his  return.  In  fact,  the  gallant  Captain 
probably  put  his  canoe  under  the  very  same  tree  or  at  any 
rate  a  successor  or  descendant  of  the  very  same  tree  as  that 
under  which  the  gallant  D'Ulric  and  his  friend  Machelle 
stowed  away  their  canoe  so  many  years  before. 

There  is  another  matter  The  Translator  would  like  to  men- 
tion: it  will  be  noticed  that  the  narrative  hereinbefore  con- 
tained arid  so  careftilly.  faithfully  and  accurately  translated 
from  the  Classic  .Sanscrit  into  "Queen's  English"  and  United 
States,  does  not  give  any  particulars  concerning  the  visit 
whiqh  Sage  Oscar  intended  to  make  to  His  Majesty,  King 
Grimalkin  the  First,  during  the  absence  of  the  intrepid  voy- 
ageurs  in  their  lantern-light  journey  up  the  Subterranean 
River  to  Lake  Superior. 

Nor  does  the  narrative  say  anything  concerning  the  jour- 
ney of  the  little  children-guests  from  the  Capital  City  to  the 
Mountain-home  of  the  Sage.  Nor  does  the  narrative  throw 
any  light  upon  that  most  romantic  episode — the  coming  of 
the  Queen,  that  is,  the  Sage's  o^t\  pariicular  Queen— 4o  her 
cedar-log  Cottage.  The  Gentle  Reader  is,  of  course,  de- 
lighted to  find  that  M.  Machelle's  words  have  come  true- 
that  his  hope  has  been  realized : 


234 


The    Translatgr' s    Epilogue. 


"Aye,"  said  Machelle,  "and  let  us  hope  that  soon  that 
"Queen  I  spoke  of  will  come  a-tripping  up  the  mountain, 
"side — and  a-saying  'where  is  that  pretty  cedar-log  Cottage 
"I   have   seen   in   my   dreams?"      (Act   III,   page   99.) 
But  naturally  one  would  like  more  particulars  concerning  the 

T.iantic  episode. 

The  Translator  does  not  wish  to  find  fault  with  the  ven- 
erable Classic  which  he  has  been  translating,  but  it  does  seem 
a  great  pity  and  a  matter  to  be  sincerely  regretted  that  the 
"Roman''  ends — in  fact,'  "stops  short,"  as  the  saying  is— at 
>,v  t.  j^  ,.pj.y  interesting  point  in  the  Narrative. 

''V-f'  ;»re  so  many  things  concerning  which  the  Reader 
wr\ud  .  :ke  further  and  fuller  particulars ;  e.  g., 

(a^*  Wi.>  iboiit  "the  Bonnie  Leddies" — the  Faire  Elfie 
an  A  th  Brvi  .^  Retta?  Om  would  think  from  the  narra- 
tive that  the  ga  .i  Sieur  was  in  a  good  way  to  win  the 
hand  of  the  Queen-girl,  and  that  his  friend  Machelle  was  in 
a  good  way  to  win  the  hand  of  her  friend  and  Lady-in- Wait- 
ing Retta.    How  did  those  little  "Love  affairs"  come  out  ? 

(b)  The  Translator  respectfully  submits  that  it  was  al- 
most unpardonable  on  the  part  of  the  Author  of  "Le  Roman" 
to  leave  out  entirely  the  conclusion  of  that  little  Romance 
concerning  "La  Belle  Modiste  Aux  Dollies" — "Ma  Violette" 
—"Sweet  Violet." 

We  want  to  know;  did  she  or  did  she  not  marry  King 
Grimalkin  the  First  after  he  resigned  his  Throne  and  his 
Crown  and  his  place  on  the  Yens  and  the  Postage  Stamps 
of  his  Country  and  became  a  simple  sheep  rancher  on  the 
Blue  Mountains — if  so — full  particulars ;  if  not — why  not? 

(c)  What  about  Old  Man  Covet  Grab — the  villain  in  the 
Piece?  What  does  the  writer  of  "Le  Roman"  mean  by  saying 
in  his  "Bill  of  Play"  "but  he"  (Mr.  Covet-Grab,  of  course,) 
"does  not  sufficiently  beware  of  the  vidders  and  so  he  is 
"cotched  up  wid"  ?  There  is  no  "vidder"  metioned  in  the  "Ro- 
man"— ^as  far  as  I  could  see.  Certainly  something  seems  to 
has  been  left  out  of  the  story — perhaps  some  leaves  have  be- 
come missing  in  all  the  years  since  the  "Roman"  first  was 
written — ^and  if  the  Reader  has  read  the  Second  Volume  of 
these  Foolish  Tales  he  will  know  that  the  MS.  pages  of  "Le 


sr-^;£.3>!z 


'^'W 


The    Translat  or's    Epilogue. 


235 


tf 


"Roman  d'une  Pussy  Ghat"  have  received  considerable  hand- 
ling— so  to  speak.  A  few  pages  might,  perhaps,  have  be- 
come lost  or  mislaid.  The  Translator  is  personally  inter- 
ested in  the  proper  solution  of  all  the  "divers  and  several 
matters  mentioned  in  this  Epilogue.  And  if  the  Gentle 
Reader  is  really  interested  in  these  so-"Foolish  Tales"  and 
desires  that  "Le  Roman"  shall  not — like  the  "old  Grand 
"Father's  Clock" — have  "stopped  short  never  to  go  again," 
in  other  words,  if  the  Reader  wishes  that  a  Fifth  Volume  of 
"Nonsense"  should  appear  in  print,  the  Translator  will  do 
what  he  can  to  see  whether  some  memorandum  or  minute 
cannot  be  found  in  some  place  or  other— containing  the  miss- 
ing particulars  referred  to. 


INDEX  SHOWING  AUTHORS  and  BOOKS 
REFERRED  TO  OR  QUOTED  F.ROM 


Namb  of  Authok. 


BUckatone,  Sir  Wm.  Knt. 
Borns,  Robert 


Corelli,  Ma-ie. 


Coleridge, Samuel  Taylor.. 


Carroll,  Levels 

(The  Rev.  C  T.  Doigaon). 

David 

Dmmmond,  Henry 

(F.  T.  S.;  F.  R.  S.  E.) 

Dickens,  Charlea 

u  tt 

u-  u 

<t  u 


Gilbert  and  Sullivan.. 
Harrii  Joel  Chandler., 


Book. 


Barabbaa 

Ardath 

"The  Romance  of  Two  Worlds".. 

■'The  Rime  of  the  Ancient  Mariner" 
Alice's  Adventures  in  Wonderland 


Psalms 

The  Greatest  Thing  iu  the  World 
The    Posthumous    Papers    of    the 

Pickwick  Club .*. 

A  Christmas  Carol 

Nicholas  Nickleby 

"Our  Mutual  Friend" 


H.  M.  S.  Pinafore.. 


Haggard,  Rider 

i  Kempis,  Thomas 

Longfellow,  H.  W..... 

MacLeod,  Norman, 

The  Rev.  D.  M 

Nepos,  Cornelius 

Nights,  Arabian,  The. 

Owen,  Dr.  John  S 


"Of  the  Limitation  of  Christ".. . 

The  Song  of  Hiawatha 

Trust  in  God  and  Do  the  Right. 


Page,  Thomas  Nelson. 


Phelps,  Elizabeth  Stuart. 


Sewell,  Anna 

Shakespeare,  Wm. 


Sheldon,  Chas.  M.,  The  Rev. 

U  tt  u 


Uncle  Remus:  His  Songs  and  His 
Sayings:  The  Folk  Lore  of  the 
Old  Plantation 


Gramma,  the  Autobiography  of  a 
Cat 


Santa  Claus's  Partner. 


Paob. 


74- 
asi. 

17. 

17, 18, 19,  ao,  91,  aa. 

19. 

15.  aa. 

>4' 

17,  ai,  aa. 
•'• 

39- 

a4iaS. 
"41*5. 
M' 

44,  »38. 139.  >78- 

«4- 

aa,  87, 167. 

9- 
«3- 

ao. 

ao. 

59. 
i8a. 


'«The  Gates  Ajar"., 


Black  Beauty 

As  Yon  Like  It 

UK  ««  tt 

The  Merchant  of  Venice 

In  His  Steps 

The  Crucifixion  of  Phillip  Strong.. 
The  Miracle  at  Markham 


Thompson,  Wm.  Seton 
Verne,  Jules 

Wells,  Carolyn 

John, 

(Ian  Maclaren) 


Watson,  Tohn,  The  Rev.  D.  D 


Wild  Animals  I  have  Known. . 


The  Young  Kittens. 

"Beside  the  Bonnie  Briar  Bush". 

••Auld  Lang  Syne" 

"Kate  Carnegie" 


10,  II,  14. 

14. 

a4.  as.  m- 

la. 

14. 
'S. 

89. 

17a. 

17,  a4,  a6. 

>7- 
»7. 

14- 

«4. 

as. 
10,  II. 


TO     THE      READER 


Five  Volumes  of  the  Series  "Nonsense"  have  been  com- 
pleted by  the  Author  of  the  preceding  pages,  entitled  as  fol- 
lows : 

Vol.  ( I )  The  Wonderful  Story  of  Gert's  Pussy. 

Vol.  (2)  The  Wonderful  Story  of  Win's  Dodo. 

Vol.  (3)  In  the  Land  of  the  Grimalkins. 

Vol.  (4)  Le  Roman  D'une  Pussie  Chat. 

Vol.  (5)  A  Sequel  to  "Le  Roman." 

The  first  three  volumes  are  Humorous  Animal  Character 
Sketches. 

Vol.  5  is,  as  its  title  indicates,  a  Sequel  to  Vol.  4.  For  the 
general  information  of  the  readers  of  these  pages,  we  may 
say  that  it  will  c(Mitain  six  Acts  or  Chapters,  as  follows : 

Act  I.  The  Sage's  journey  for  the  children-guests ;  the 
happy  denouement;  . 

Act  2.    The  Sage's  Return — ^he  cometh  not  alone. 

Act  3.  The  Faire  Queen  Elfie  cometh  to  her  Throne,  her 
Crown  and  her  place  on  the  Yens  and  Postage 
Stamps  of  the  Realm. 

Act  4.  The  wooing  and  the  winning  of  "the  Bonnie  Led- 
dies" — an  Idyll  of  a  Faire  Queen  and  of  her  Bru- 
nette Maid  and  Lady-in- Waiting. 

Act  5.    A  Little  Romance  in  the  Life  of  a  Faire  Modiste 
Aux  Dollies. 
An  Idyll  of  a  King. 

Act  6.    A  gallant  Ex-Butler  goes  a- wooing. 
An  Idyll  of  an  Ex-Butler. 

Dr,  Rogers  is  now  engaged  in  writing  the  Sixth  Volume 
of  the  Series  "Nonsense,"  a  further  Sequel,  to  be  entitled 
"Afterwards — being  a  Sequel  to  *A  Sequel.' " 

The  remaining  volumes  will  be  issued  from  the  Press  as 
soon  as  practicable. 

If  the  interested  Reader  will  kindly  send  name  and  ad- 
dress to  the  publishers  they  will  be.  promptly  notified  of  the 
publication  of  the  succeeding  volumes. 


Wi    '^^^-:t-'.-     't^' 


238 


To    the   Reader, 


It  is  confidently  believed  that  the  Reading  Public  will 
find  the  volumes  of  the  Series  very  interesting — ^Dr.  Rogers 
is  certainly  writing  on  somewhat  original  lines.  It  will  be 
noticed  that  the  Author  has  not  only  discovered  an  entirely 
new  Country — ^"The  Land  of  the  Grimalkins,"  but  he  has 
peopled  it  with  some  very  interesting  Characters.  With  the 
aid  of  the  Maps  or  Sketches  prepared  by  Miss  Wismer,  and 
which  accompany  the  third,  fourth  and  fifth  volumes,  the 
Gentle  Reader  will  be  able  very  speedily  to  become  well  ac- 
quainted with  the  topography  of  the  Land  of  the  Grimalkins 
— and  to  understand  "the  lay  of  the  Land." 

Dr.  Rogers  is  to  be  congratulated  upon  having  discovered 
the  mysterious  Subterranean  Channel  leading  from  Lake 
Superior  into  the  Land  of  the  Grimalkins.  The  discovery 
will  be  a  matter  of  interest  to  people  who  are  geographic- 
ally-inclined, to  learned  men,  savants,  sages  and  scien- 
tists, y 

In  addition  to  these  Humorous  Books  the  same  writer  has 
in  th  course  of  a  busy  Professional  life  found  time  to  prepare 
for  the  Press  the  following  other  Books  which  the  Publish- 
ers will  bring  out  as  speedily  as  possible : 

(i)  "Looking  Backward  and  Forward,  being  the 
Thoughts  of  a  Lay  Man  on  the  Eve  of  the  Twentieth  Cen- 
tury." 

(2)  "Reveries  and  Reminiscences — Grave  and  Gay." 

(3)  "The  Book  Which  Was  Never  Written." 

To  accompany  the  second  book  lastly  mentioned,  the  Au- 
thor was  enabled  to  obtain,  through  the  kindness  of  certain 
friends,  a  large  and  beautiful  collection  of  photographs, 
showing  the  wild  and  picturesque  scenery  to  be  found  here 
and  there  all  over  that  vast  extent  of  country — that  great 
North  Land — now  commencing  to  be  popularly  known  as 
"New  Ontario."  These  views  include  inland  lakes  and 
streams,  waterfalls,  mountains,  valleys,  and  the  inmost  re- 
cesses of  "the  Forest  Primeval." 

The  first  Book  contains  several  interesting  Articles  bear- 
ing on  Religious  and  Social  Subjects,  some  of  which  have 
already  appeared  in  the  Daily  Witness  (Montreal). 

The  third  Book,  lastly  mentioned,  is  a  little  volume  written 


To    the    Reader. 


239 


^ 


somewhat  on  the  same  lines  as  that  popular  and  widely  read 
little  book,  "The  Gates  Ajar."    (Elizabeth  Stuart  Phelps.) 

Those  who  have  read  Dr.  Rogers'  Articles  which  appeared 
in  the  Daily  Witness  (Montreal),  "Christian  Socialism  and 
"Ethical  Preaching"  and  "The  Thoughts  of  a  Layman  Con- 
"cerning  the  Life  Which  is  to  Come,"  will  know  the  writer 
to  be  a  "Broad  Churchman." 

All  his  books  are  written  from  a  Broad  Church  stand- 
point, the  same  standpoint  from  which  those  great  Broad 
Churchmen  from  whom  he  so  frequently  quotes  have  written 
— ^the  late  Prof.  Drummond,  "Ian  Maclaren"  (The  Rev.  Dr. 
Watson),  the  Very  Rev.  Dean  Farrar,  and  the  Rev.  C.  M. 
Sheldon.  We  have  no  doubt  that  the  three  volumes  lastly 
mentioned,  when  published,  will  find  many  friends. 

The  Publishers  may  add,  as  an  introduction  to  the  writer, 
that  he  is  a  member  of  the  Ontario  Bar,  and  has  received 
from  Trinity  University  (Toronto)  the  distinction  of  "D.  C. 
"L." 

Dr.  Rogers  is  a  prominent  Free  Mason,  being  a  Past 
r^rand  Steward  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Canada,  A.  F.  &  A. 
M.,  in  the  Province  of  Ontario. 

Although  this  may  be  said  to  be  the  Author's  first  en- 
trance upon  the  Sea  of  Literature,  Dr.  Rogers  for  some  years 
has  been  well  known  in  Canada  as  a  writer  with  regard  to 
Immigration  and  Colonization  subjects.  For  years  he  has 
worked  hard  to  bring  to  the  front  the  claims  of  Northern 
and  North  Western  Ontario  ("New  Ontario")  as  a  desir- 
able field  for  Colonization  and  Immigration,  Letters  from 
his  pen  on  the  subject  have  frequently  appeared  in  the  Press. 
And  two  pamphlets  compiled  by  him  have  been  published  by 
the  Dominion  and  Ontario  Governments,  respectively,  and 
have  received  a  wide  circulation,  not  only  in  older  Canada 
and  to  some  extent  in  the  United  States,  but  also  in  the  Old 
Country. 

AMERICAN  PUBLISHING  COMPANY, 
23  Adams  Ave.  E., 

Detroit,  Mich.,  U.  S.  A. 


^    J,i 


'k 


